The Snake and the Lioness
by Heavens Evangel
Summary: What happens when a Slytherin falls in love with a Gryffindor? Taking place twenty four years later, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy finds himself stuck with a Gryffindor for a partner in potions class when the class becomes uneven in sixth year. (Revised)
1. Prologue

**The Snake and The Lioness**  
><em>v. 2 revised, rewritten and improved<br>By HeavensEvangel_

**Disclaimer**

The Snake and the Lioness is a work of **fan-fiction**. It is all within the world of Harry Potter created by **J.K Rowling**, all rights to the Harry Potter word belong to her. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

**Prologue**

It was sixth year. Scorpius was more than ready to start it as one of the smartest students in class, of course that itself was a give in. He worked far too hard to let his reputation or grades slip. As he looked around the classroom it quickly came to his attention that his side of the room was rather short one student. He frowned. _Who left this year? _He tried to remember who it was. It was probably one of the few Slytherins that had gotten in by pure luck and finally realized they weren't talented and left. Some times he thought that sorting hat was getting on in its old age. His gray eyes settled on the other side of the class room to their rival house. The Gryffindor side looked awfully even, but there was someone missing there too. He could feel the dread sink in his stomach as he looked towards Professor Quintell.

"It seems we're missing people." She trailed off as she spoke, looking over the attendance while thinking of some way to make the students even for both sides.

He wished she would say he would be alone. _Please say I'll be alone, please, please._ He mentally begged. His hopes were dashed the moment he heard someone running in the room only to skid to a halt. When he turned he looked over in annoyance. He knew that girl.

"I'm so sorry professor! I caught two students fighting in the hallways and had to intervene." The girl in question had light reddish brown hair with a single streak of blonde in it, it was in a braid down her back and was tied with red ribbons. Her prefect badge was gleaming in the dim light provided by the candles and torches in the potions classroom. She looked up at her with bright green eyes in apology. There was a bruise forming on her face where she got hit and her voice was gratingly American. This girl was not of noble English blood and likely a mud-blood.

A smirk formed on the professor's face as she looked between the girl and the lone Malfoy.

He glared at his head of house, he knew what that look meant.

"Well, since you're here late, albeit for a good reason, you will have to receive punishment." There was a glint in her eye.

She grimaced. _First day back and I'm getting punished? I've never been punished for anything, least not at school._

"Slytherin house is uneven this year and Gryffindor has strangely enough lost a student as well over the summer. So to make up for this, you will be partners with Mr. Malfoy."

The Slytherin side hissed at the suggestion and sent glares both at their professor and the prefect. They didn't want her on their side of the room. There was no way that they would accept her here.

She flushed a little. _Something tells me this is going to be a rough year. _"Professor please... can't I just work alone?" She asked softly.

Professor Ameris Quintell stared at her blankly and pointed to the table. "Get to your seat Ms. Snow." She proceeded to wave her off as she turned to the board and enchanted the chalk, ready to start the lesson. The purple haired woman would hear no more complaints out of either side.

The girl referred to as Ms. Snow, turned towards Scorpius and reluctantly sat in the empty seat beside him. "Hi," she hesitated, "I'm Elizabeth Snow." She attempted to be civil. If they were going to be partners in class they had to get along, at least she had hoped they would.

The Gryffindors were sending death glares at the Slytherin side. Although none of the people in her house knew her well enough, or acknowledged her, they didn't like the fact that one of their own was being subjected to being paired up with their mortal enemy.

The same sentiments could be said for the Slytherin side, but unlike Elizabeth who knew practically no one from her class, most of the students on the Slytherin side knew Scorpius well, even if he didn't associate with them often.

He frowned, some of his silver blonde hair came loose from being slicked back. The boy was the exact image of his father, Draco Malfoy, who sat in this very room ages ago before him. He glared at her. "I really don't care who you are. Just don't screw up my grade in this class." He looked back towards the front of the class to listen to the lesson. _Hn Americans. I didn't know this school actually accepted such brutes._

She shuddered a little at the way he looked at her before turning her attention towards the professor. _I can't believe she would pull something like this on me. _She leaned forward on the desk and listened intently, trying to ignore the glares she was receiving from the Slytherins, especially by the girls. This was going to be a long, long day.


	2. Chapter 1

-1-

Elizabeth sighed softly as she walked back to her private dorm within Gryffindor tower. She had had one ever since the incident in first year when she couldn't control her magic over the nightmares she had at night. Her guardian at the time and her head of house had petitioned to McGonagall to allow her to have her own dorm for her safety as well as the safety of the other students. It wasn't usually heard of but to avoid any more incidents, McGonagall had allowed it and the tower had worked it's literal magic to make it so.

She sighed and pushed the memory aside as she entered her room, thinking about how interesting her first day had been, although at this school, there hardly ever was a dull day. Her mind wandered back to the Slytherin she had been paired up with in class. He wasn't bad to look at per say but his attitude needed a lot of work. She rolled her eyes as she sat down on her bed. From what she remembered he was a prefect as well, she had seen him plenty of times on the Hogwarts Express and during various meetings. She had never thought twice on him before and doubted that he ever thought of her before to day either.

She undid the ribbons keeping her hair from falling out of the long braid and loosened it up. It was the first time anyone from even her own house and looked at her. She shook her head, loosening up her hair in the process with her fingers before she stood and removed her robes. She tossed them over the chair and looked at herself in the mirror. _I wonder what my parents would think of me if they saw me now. Would the be proud? I probably wouldn't be at Hogwarts if they were still around. _She had received many letters of acceptance from Beauxbatons, Hogwarts, The Salem Witches' Institute and even The Mahoutokoro School of Magic had reached out to her. Truthfully the only reason she came here was because after the deaths of her parents she had been moved to London to live with an aunt and later to live with a friend of the family. She was afraid to leave what she knew.

She sighed and glanced over to the time. It would be dinner any minute now, if she wanted to get something good, she would have to get to the table and fast. She left the room quickly and made her way to the great hall, avoiding the glances and the murmurs she heard from students as she passed by. Word got out fast.

The hall was of course, crowded with every single student in Hogwarts. Scorpius scowled, class had not gone at all how he thought it would. Although the rest of the day went out well, potions remained on his mind. The more he thought about it the more distracted and inwardly angry he got. He ate halfheartedly until he caught glimpse of the new bane of his existence, the American Gryffindor. Why she stuck out to him like a sore thumb now when she had always been nothing but another student to him, he didn't know. But seeing her come in and struggle to get an open seat, caused him to think of how class progressed.

Earlier that day at Potions, Professor Quintell turned towards them with a smile. "So today my _beloved _students, you will be brewing pain potions since the Hospital wing is in desperate need of them. Whichever team brews it the best will receive ten points to their house. Now begin." She sat at her desk and started reading the newspaper.

Why was he not surprised? Their professor could be so lazy. Professor Quintell often skirted the easy work off to her students. Scorpius rolled his eyes and glanced at his unfortunate partner for the rest of the year. She had the book opened and was reading it over. She opened her mouth to say something but he shut her down and stood up. "I'll get the ingredients. You stay out of my way." He said in a hushed tone as he walked away from her.

She frowned and shook her head as she looked up, watching him leave. She stood and got the cauldron lit, waiting for him to come back. She hoped he had half a brain to bring the right ingredients.

He returned and set them on the table. Everything seemed like the right thing, all accept one.

"This one is wrong, it looks similar but the coloration is different." She tried to explain but he quickly shot her down.

"Shut up, how dare you say I got something _wrong_." He growled at her and moved the cauldron over towards him.

She heaved a sigh. "Fine, do the work yourself, but if you add that in it's going to blow up in your face."

He rolled his eyes. "Stop being a know-it-all Gryffindor." He spat out at her as she plopped herself down in the chair. _The nerve of that girl! Suddenly she's my partner for the class and she thinks she knows everything. _He began to stir things in. Everything seemed to go fine until he added the last ingredient. The potion bubbled and turned red, instead of a pleasant blue green. _It's not supposed to look like that, is it? _It bubbled over and blew up in his face.

She fought back a snicker. "I won't say it." She stood and quickly started to clean up after receiving a glance from Professor Quintell. "I'll get the ingredients and we can start again, alright?" She told him softly as she walked off to get what was needed.

He seethed. _I've been made a complete and total fool of! Stupid girl will not get away with this! I don't care if she is a prefect. _When she returned he continued to glare at her.

"Let's chop these up shall we?" She said softly as she transfigured a quill into a knife. Picking it up, she began to chop the ingredients.

He grit his teeth but complied, he needed a perfect grade for this class, he would not accept anything less than a perfect score. _Yes, enjoy this all you like Gryffindor slut, I'll be getting back at you soon. _

As she chopped she looked over at him. "Scorpius… we have to work together if we both want excellent grades in this class."

He grumbled a little as he added the freshly chopped ingredients.

"I'm not asking you to like me or anything, just work with me. It's only for the year, who knows how next year is going to pan out, right?" She added the ingredients she chopped and commenced stirring, once clockwise and twice counter-clockwise.

He grunted and added the last ingredient. He was overall pleased by the color.

"Now we just let it simmer." She said softly as she sat back into her seat.

And that's exactly how it went. Luckily the work they did granted both their houses points. But he wasn't happy with the arrangement at all. He contemplated complaining to his father, but felt it would be a moot point. There was only so much one could do against Professor Quintell or Headmistress McGonagall. He looked up and she caught his eye again. _She let her hair out. It looks soft from here. _He mused to himself before shaking his head. _What in the bloody hell am I thinking? She's a damn Gryffindor prat. Stupid American Gryffindor prat. Shouldn't she be in Salem or something or other? I didn't think Hogwarts just let anyone with magical talent in._ _What the hell is so special about her? _He frowned and looked down at his plate, his meal was completely murdered and hardly looked appetizing. He grumbled to himself as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. His eyes scanned the room for her again until they rested on her back, an idea forming in his head.

She had managed to get her meal and ate it silently, doing her best to ignore the looks she got from her house mates. News had indeed traveled fast, just as fast as the rumors did. But honestly, she should have known it would. In her last five years there, she had learned that Gryffindor was known for gossips and trouble-makers. She turned her head, her eyes gazed at the entrance to the great hall as she ate dinner. _They're probably all curious as to why I didn't put up more of a fight about the arrangement._ She sighed and took a sip of juice, eating like a good civilized lady should, unlike most of her house mates. She did her best to ignore them as usual as she ate.

Elizabeth kept to herself mostly, she had only made prefect because she was really hard working and got exceptional grades, so the whispers down the table about what happened in potions class had her shifting slightly uncomfortably in her seat. The whole incident was being blown out of proportion but that was to be expected. One group was whispering about how she outsmarted the snake and caused the cauldron to explode all over his face. Of course it had exploded on him, but it had nothing to do with her, he had simply made a careless mistake.

Unfortunately Slytherins were just as gossipy and were telling similar rumors. Scorpius felt his eye throb with annoyance, the lid twitched as he listened to their accounts of what happened. Although not entirely true, he would let them believe it. He wasn't going to tell them it had been his mistake, even though a small voice in his head, that oddly sounded like his mother, told him he should. He shook his head. Why should he care if her reputation, or lack there of, were to get ruined? His frowned deepened and he stood up suddenly, startling some of the people next to him, the movement had been fluid, yet hasty. He walked towards the exit and paused once at the doors, the thought he had earlier back in his mind. A smirk formed as he turned and let his eyes roam the room. Easily finding her, he watched as she ate dinner with an annoyed expression on her face. He decided he wanted the girl's attention. His wand slid out from his sleeve and he waved it as he pointed it directly at her, uttering a spell under his breath. A spark flew out and hit her square in the cheek.

She jumped up and reached to rub it. She looked in the direction it came from and spotted him smirking at her. Her eyes narrowed instantly.

He gave her a smug smile and turned to leave, the robes rustling behind him as he made his way out of the hall.

She shook slightly with anger but controlled the urge to outright yell at his retreating back, she didn't want more attention on herself. She took one last sip of pumpkin juice and stood up. She walked out of the hall soon after and looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, but when she hadn't, she heaved a heavy sigh. _Why did he do that for?_ She rubbed her cheek where it still stung from getting hit. Of all places to aim a spell, it had to be at the same spot as the bruise from the fight she stopped earlier that day.

He watched her in the shadows, amused by the look on her face. _This is going to be fun. _His smirk became devilish as he watched her look around once more before leaving, heading back towards the tower.

The moment she was in her room, she sat on the bed and sighed in frustration. "What was all that about?" She wondered if he only did that to get back at her for the rumors that were spreading. She wanted to tear at her hair, but controlled the urge as she got up and went to the desk to start on the homework that had been given, faster it was done, the faster she could get a nap in before making her rounds in the hallways tonight.

That night was just like any other night she had to patrol in the past. It was silent and luckily no students had attempted breaking curfew. The silence in the darkness had allowed her mind to wander back to the dream she had during her nap.

_She walked out into the hallway and glanced around her. The great hall behind her was noisy as usual while the hall she was currently standing in was eerily dark and silent. Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she looked around for something, or rather, looked for someone. The arms that had suddenly wrapped around her were thin, yet held strength in them as she was pulled backwards into the unending darkness that were the various hidden corners of Hogwarts. She opened her mouth to cry out but a pair of soft warm lips crashed upon her more full ones. _

_She shivered as a battle of lips and tongues commenced as she was pinned to the wall and kissed deeply by someone she could not make out in the dark. The very situation was very frightening, but the rush was exhilarating and urged a warmth to pool just between her legs at her center. It wasn't until he moved away from her did she realize who this was. _

_Before her was a smirking Slytherin snake, otherwise known as prefect Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. His steely gray eyes were smoldering with lust as he gazed at the tan skinned teen he had pinned against the cold stone wall. His fingers were long and cold, like ice on her warm skin. The creamy milk white skin was a stark contrast to warm bronze. He was like a ghost before her, pale, devious, full of evil intention, but yet he was nothing but perfection. There were no physical flaws in the man that held her there. He licked his lips as he stared into her eyes. He leaned down to her again, his lips crashed against hers once more, claiming her as his own in that instant. He released his grip on her arms and ran his hands down to her sides and positioning them on her hips as he placed all his weight on her._

_She gasped into the kiss. She could feel his hands against her through her sweater. Despite how frightening the situation was for a young virgin girl, she couldn't help but respond to his kisses, her body was aching in places she didn't realize could ache. She wanted to be touched by him. She let out a soft whimper when his fingers grazed her thigh before he gripped at it and lifted the leg. The act had allowed him to be pressed against her. She could feel the throbbing need of his shaft pressing against her own warm aching need. Her breathing quickened. This was happening very fast and they were still in the hallway._

_Students were leaving the great hall, heading towards their dorms, and here they were snogging in a corner. The prospect of getting caught doing something so naughty didn't help her control the sudden needs she was feeling. She felt him lift her and wrap her legs around his waist, causing her to wrap her arms around his neck for support as he pressed it against her, keeping her in place._

_He didn't waste time to remove her sweater. Her shirt was quickly unbuttoned next. The moment the smooth skin of her neck was exposed, his lips latched on. He ran his tongue against her skin to get a real taste of it before latching onto a spot and sucking softly, leaving a very visible mark there. He slid his hand into the back of the shirt and unhooked the lace bra. He pulled away from her neck and swiftly removed the top and slid the emerald green bra off her breasts. It went pooling to the floor with her shirt and sweater. He smirked at the sight of her nipples pert and waiting attention. He leaned his head down and took a nipple into his mouth, suckling it with great care as the other hand dug its finger nails into her thigh. He dragged them down, leaving light trails of red against the skin._

_She moaned and reached her hands in his hair, gripping at it in a possessive needy manner. At this point she could care less if they got caught. Several teachers had glanced into the darkness they were hiding in, but walked off as if they could see nothing. The prospect of being watched while in this sort of position had caused her to shudder and release a small amount._

_He pulled away from the nipple and looked at her, a taunting smirk on his face as he peered down at her. "You're getting messy somewhere aren't you Snow?"_

"_Please," she squeaked softly at him. "Don't tease me like this Scorpius." Her voice was coming out in a mere whisper as she looked at him pleadingly. "Why are you even doing this?"_

_He simply laughed at her, his free hand reached down and gripped at the matching lace panties she wore. He felt between, the wetness had indeed gotten worse. "Well, well, well, and here I thought Grffindors were good. Aren't you a naughty little lioness?" He purred as he forced them upwards, wedging them in between moist lips._

_She gasped at the feel and bit down on her bottom lip._

_He reached and grabbed at the zipper of her skirt. He unzipped it and stared at her, ingraining the image of her like this in his memory. A soft smile crossed his lips. She would be naked in this hallway, exposed completely, and he would have his way with her. He set her legs down and let the skirt fall. He turned her around so he could get a full look at her backside. He licked his lips. His smirk widening at just how naughty her undergarments were. He grabbed at her ass and gave it a squeeze, to which he was rewarded with a moan. He wedged the underwear more and heard her squeak. "Such a naughty lioness," He purred again against her ear as he spanked her. "I shall enjoy punishing you." He whispered into her ear, it was meant to be a threat, but the tone in his voice was anything but. It was full of lust and need. This was more than just him wanting revenge, this was him going on instincts with a pretty girl._

_The thought of him doing more to her caused her to ache with the need for him to do it. She never thought she could be so naughty before. She had always been just a good girl, at least that was what she told herself whenever she bought matching lingerie sets._

"_However, I approve of your color choices, so instead of punishment I will reward you." He turned her around and tugged her panties off. Lifting her again, he kissed her deeply and passionately, ravaging her mouth in a seductive manner. "Snow."_

"Snow. Snow!"

She blinked a few times, her cheeks red as she looked towards who was calling her name. It was another prefect from her house.

He frowned at her. "Elizabeth, you're so out of it today. Are you tired?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just been a really long day." She admitted, but the blush would not leave.

"You look like you've got a fever, you should call it a night. I'll take over for you." He said with a grin.

She nodded. "Thanks." She looked a bit embarrassed. "I'll make it up to you some how."

"No worries!"

She gave a nod and turned to walk back to the tower and to her dorm. She remembered how she woke up from that nap. Once in her room she pulled off her robes and set them over the chair. The dream had been too real and had left her physically aching for attention in a way she had never wanted it. But since she had hallways duty tonight she didn't have time to fulfill that need. She removed her sweater next as she plopped down on the bed. She loosened up the tie before she carefully removed it, setting it on top of her sweater, followed by her shirt. Just like in her dream, she was indeed wearing a green lace bra and matching panties. She stood to remove the rest of her clothing and set her shoes aside before gathering the dirty clothes and putting them in the hamper that had her name on it. She put the robe on a hanger and put it on a hook on the door.

Her mind wandered back to the dream and she could feel she was more than ready for male attention. She sighed as she sat down in front of the vanity and and looked at herself. She undid the braid and let her hair fall in curls down her back. As she looked at herself she noticed there was a mark from being kissed on her neck. It as dark and seemed like it had been there for quite some time, a few hours at least. Her heart beats quickened as she slowly peeked down at her thigh to see that it too had remnants of nail markings across it. _That's impossible..._

Scorpius had a satisfied look on his face as he sat in his private room. He didn't have to run rounds today, hell, Slytherin prefects hardly ever did their duty on patrolling the corridors at night like they were supposed to. He thought back to the spell he had placed on her and smirked at his handy work. _She's probably noticing the markings right now. _He chuckled as he sat there in his chair, shirtless and wearing only a pair of green silk pajama pants. _The fact that she wears such things is so intriguing. I can't wait to continue to invade her dreams. It was so easy to place that spell on her today without her even realizing it. I can enter and manipulate her dreams how I see fit. Ah revenge is so sweet. _

He felt a tingle. A certain area of his pants had gotten tight. To say he did not feel any sort of excitement while he ravaged the girl in her dreams was to be lying to himself. _Perhaps this is a double edged spell in the end. Not only does what I do physically affect her, but if affects me as well. _His hand reached and ran against the swollen area of his pants. He vaguely wondered if she was doing anything to please herself, the thought made all the blood in his body rush to a certain place. He grunted and shook his head. _Stupid lioness, don't worry. This is just the first phase of your punishment. I'm not in any way done with you. _

He remembered how it felt to take her virginity in her dream like state and he shivered in delight. It was so delicious, the feel of her. He wondered briefly if doing this was playing with fire, or if he had the right idea in torturing her sexually. He knew virtually nothing about the girl. He had no idea if she was of pure blood or if she was a muggle born. Although he already knew that getting involved with her, even if it was only in her dreams, would cause issues. She was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin. He was sure his parents would never approve of it.

When he realized what he was thinking, he shook his head. "Stupid Gryffindor, I'm not even attracted to her." Of course, he knew deep down that that was a blatant lie. There had to be some reason why she was constantly on his mind since potions that morning. He felt a tingle again, but this time it was different, it alerted him to her falling asleep. A smirk rose on his face as he climbed into bed. _Let the torment begin_. He chuckled and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift into dream land.


	3. Chapter 2

-2-

When Elizabeth had started to drift to sleep, she felt a strange tingle. She ignored it and fell into dream land easily, thanks to how tired she had been. She felt oddly warm as she lay there. She opened her eyes and looked around. This was certainly not her dorm room. She was lying next to a fire place on a plush fur rug that felt soft on her skin. She sat up and let her eyes wander around the room. She was in an old stone cottage, the roof was made of wood and straw above her. Near her was an old red velvet chair that looked similar to the ones in the common room, and although it was worn, it still looked comfortable. There was a hand carved wooden table in what looked like the kitchen area of the cottage and a large four poster bed that had sheer white drapes hanging over it in a curtain. The bed looked rather comfortable.

She stood up and looked at herself. Her hair had been straightened out and there were white roses weaved into the strands. The dress she wore was white on the top and green on the bottom with roses printed on it. It was empire waist with short puff sleeves, it stopped just an inch above the knee. She admired the dress briefly before exploring the room fully.

She looked out the window and saw the property was littered with flowers, a beautiful lake caught the sun light. The willow trees blanketed the cottage beautifully. She couldn't help the smile at the beauty of it all, even if this was a dream, she couldn't help the relaxed feeling that washed over her. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the bird chirping and let out a breath. "I wonder where this really is..."

There was a chuckle from nearby, followed by a familiar voice. "Why, you're with me. That's all that matters my _lioness_." The tone was slightly condescending, yet there was a hint of amusement there.

She quickly turned towards the voice and saw Scorpius sitting at the table. He certainly hadn't been there before.

He was wearing black slacks, an opened green silk shirt and leather loafers. His hair wasn't slicked back, but was actually a tad bit messy as it came down just past his shoulders. He stared at her with mischievousness dancing in his gray eyes, a smirk plastered on his face. He motioned for her to come to him.

She slowly stood up and made her way to his side. She stopped in front of him and watched him closely, her heart was pounding in her chest.

In an instant he was up on his feet and pressing her onto the table, forcing her to sit on it. His smirk never left his face as he licked his lips. "And so the lioness falls prey to the snake." He mused as he leaned in and licked her lips teasingly. He enjoyed how her face instantly flushed at the contact and how her lips parted in acceptance. The moment her mouth was open he took the invitation and slid his tongue into the moist cavern, where it began to dance with hers.

She shook slightly at the pressure he was putting on her and found she was unable to continue to keep herself leaning up. She sunk back involuntarily and pulled away from the savagely desperate kiss, she could feel her lips swelling a bit. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Do I need a reason to torture you? You're such a naughty lioness, yet you fell so easily into my trap and there's no way for you to get out of it." He paused as he trailed his fingers along her jaw line. "Does that scare, or excite you my dear?" His intentions were to break her and make her his against her will, to make her beg for his attentions and affections. From what he had noted about her, she had no friends at all. She was, in every sense of the word, a lone lioness in the wild and he wanted to claim her as his. The arrogant smirk returned to his features as he stared into her eyes, entranced by how they glittered.

She bit down on her bottom lip as she stared at him in turn. "Maybe," she hesitated, "it's both. I'm not exactly sure what to expect out of you."

"As well you shouldn't. It won't be fun if you know what I'm going to do next." He put all of his weight on her, forcing her to lie on the table. He leaned in towards her as he climbed partly on the table for better leverage. With her legs parted at either side of him, he was allowed to press the tight heat against her. He felt her shudder as he turned his gaze to her, was it a shudder of fear, or anticipation? He couldn't felt the excitement he felt to know he made her feel this vulnerable, this filled with need. Leaning on one hand, he allowed his free hand to run along her left thigh, he lifted it up onto his shoulder and turned his head towards it to trail kisses along the skin. He took in her scent, it was a mix of apples and vanilla, fresh, clean yet sensual. A part of him wanted to stop all this and find a way to her so he could have her in reality. He shook the thought off, this was supposed to be tormenting her, to get her back for being made his partner in class.

She shivered as she felt him graze his lips along the inside of her thigh, she could feel the warmth radiating from both of them. She couldn't lie that she had thought him attractive before, but she had always thought that in passing. She never had fantasized about a boy before this.

He grazed his teeth against her flesh then, teasing her with the sharpness of his canines against sensitive skin. He bit down gently and relished in the moan she let out in response. He pulled away and lifted her off the table, back onto her feet. "Let's get comfortable shall we?" He lifted her into his arms in one sweeping motion and carried her in a cradling embrace. His arms were strong, even though they appeared thin. His time playing on the quidditch field had definitely strengthened and toned him, while not making him look like some sort of brainless muscle man. He carried her easily over to the bed and laid her down with a gentleness he didn't know himself capable of.

Once she was on the bed comfortably, she sat up a little to watch as he climbed in, stalking her with fluid snake like motions. She flushed at how alluring the image of him was. She was entranced by him. Her eyes watched how his muscles moved under the skin to allow the movement. _This is a dream, I can wake any minute and be in my bed. _She mentally sighed. _I've never had dreams like this before, well definitely not about a student. Why now? Why him of all people? I won't lie, he is very... attractive. _She blushed still at her own thoughts.

At least she believed she was thinking to herself.

_So she finds me attractive? Well this certainly makes for an interesting development. It's a shame she's not a Slytherin. I might not be so hellbent on this if she were._ A part of him knew that if she had been in his house, he probably wouldn't have gone to this length. Why did he? They didn't know each other. He shook it off as he came upon her with the speed and agility of a deadly snake. His lips pressed against hers as he grabbed her thighs, pulling her toward him in the process. He pressed himself against her and grabbed her hips, forcing her to drag against it. He shuddered at the moan she let out. He felt surprised when she pressed into him in return. "Eager are we?" He looked pleased when she nodded.

Of her own free will, she leaned forward and kissed his lips shyly.

Her lips were soft against his. He felt his heart swell as a stray thought entered his mind. _Will we be like this one day? _He mentally chastised himself. He wondered then if she'd ever act this way if they were ever in this situation in the real world. He wanted to test that theory. A part of his was certain that she was too shy and introverted to even think about doing things like this.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him, pressing into him more. She was being much bolder than she was in real life. _No harm in being bold in a dream, not like it will ever happen in real life._ She assured herself.

He mused to himself at her thoughts. _So there is my answer. _He pulled the left sleeve down slightly, he felt a rough patch of skin there he hadn't noticed before, the mark itself was too faint, it was rather old. His eyebrows knit together as he looked at her, running his fingers against it softly. _What's this?_ She winced at the action. He stopped touching there, almost concerned. He wrapped his arms around her then, holding her close to him. In an instant he felt just how fragile she was, how breakable she was in his embrace. With that looming over him, he let his grudge against her slip for a moment and held her gently, yet firmly. It almost felt, protective. Like he was saying you can trust me with your life. He leaned away to look down at her.

Unfortunately it seemed like time went too fast in the outside world, because no sooner was he ready to undress her, did they both have to wake for classes.

When his eyes opened he frowned and crossed his arms. "There has to be a way to elongate the dream length. I didn't even get to the best part this time." He grumbled when he noticed his problem. He would have to take care of it himself.

In the great hall, he sat at the table, eating breakfast. He allowed his eyes to scan the room, he couldn't help but search for her. It didn't take him long to find her. She was, as always, sitting alone. He needed to find a way to get to her. He frowned. As far as he knew, they didn't have classes together today. He would have to find a way to bump into her with out it being weird. If he weren't a Malfoy he would pull at his hair at the conflicting thoughts running through his mind, but he was a Malfoy and therefor he kept his cool and calm composure. He would not show his frustrations out in the open. Several of his house mates glanced at him, sensing the tension, but none would dare mention it for fear of his titanic temper.

Elizabeth leaned on her hand a bit. Waking up this morning had found her in a very compromising position. Her night gown had been twisted upwards and the pair of blue lace panties she had put on after her bath had been pulled down and practically off of her. There had been a spot on the bed where she had been laying. The thought of it caused her to go a bit red. She tried a cold bath but it hadn't helped much, her thoughts continued to wander back to him, and it was pure torture. She shook her head of the thoughts. She no longer wanting to eat. She stood and grabbed her bag, then made her way out of the hall to head to class early.

Seeing her stand up he took it upon himself to take it as an opportunity to follow her. He stood and grabbed his own bag, walking out of the hall. He glanced around and easily saw her walking down the corridor. He managed to catch up with her and looked around. Seeing no one, he smirked and pushed her gently enough not to cause real harm, but hard enough to make her stumble.

She turned around and looked at him, her face fixed with a glare, which faltered when her eyes met his. "What was that for?!"

"For being in my way… _Lioness_." He decided that it would be the perfect teasing nickname for her, the way she had glared when she first turned was befitting of one.

She tensed when he called her that and straightened up instantly. "What did you call me?"

"I called you _lioness_ simply because of how you glared at me when you turned."

"Then maybe I should start calling you a Snake?"

He chuckled. "How original of you Snow."

She grit her teeth and turned away. "I don't have time to bother with you teasing me Scorpius. I have to get to class." She huffed before walking rather quickly down the hallway.

He watched her go and smirked a little to himself. _That should hold me off until tonight at least. In the meantime I have to get to class. _


	4. Chapter 3

-3-

A few months had passed since the incident between Elizabeth and Scorpius in the hall way and winter was closing in. Classes were going well, even potions despite the daily tension between them. It was like he gained pleasure in teasing her. She had hoped that he'd let up. It didn't help that Scorpius was still in her dreams every night either. She could see him now, that arrogant smirk that screamed _I'm better than you will ever be_, those cold gray eyes, the way his lips curved into that smirk. He was absolutely physically flawless. She shivered as she imagined him, no imagined the dream him. She still didn't understand why she had dreams about the arrogant snake, but as she thought on those dreams her body heated.

She was so lucky she didn't share a dorm room. How embarrassing would it be to wake up with three other girls in the room with you and your sheets were soaked through, your clothes disheveled? Her face colored. She saw him naked above her, his lips against hers, his shaft buried deep into her. Her hand dipped down to the warmth pooling there. She touched herself gently and suppressed the moan, she was soft, wet, trembling. She stopped herself and sighed, mentally cursing herself for the way that he was making her feel.

She had to distract herself, keep herself from falling asleep. She didn't want to dream of him. She decided to study from her potions book, although she had already memorized all of the potions in the book and has had some practical practice with her guardian, she knew that these potions could be improved upon. Even with traditional brewing methods some potions just weren't as potent as they could be, and she knew that a lot of times this had to do with how the ingredients had been treated prior to being used. Mastery and improvement of these potions were important to her. She aspired to be a great potions master, the best there ever was. That was why she studied so hard.

Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried to concentrate on the matter at hand, her mind couldn't stop wandering to him. And with her focus gone she ended up falling asleep on the desk, despite how desperately she had been trying to avoid it.

Scorpius felt the tingle, the alert that told him that Snow had crossed into dreamland finally. He contemplated punishing her for taking so long but shook his head, she might have been busy studying or something. Despite how much he loved to torture her, a part of him had begun to respect her prowess in the art of potions. She knew a lot for a girl her age. His lip twitched a little as he moved to his bed and sunk down into it's warmth. He closed his eyes, intent on following her in.

But what he found when he opened his eyes was not a dream. He could feel fear enclosing him in the darkness of this place. He was in a dark forest, filled with dark weeping willows and other tall trees, none like he had ever seen on his many trips to the country side with his father. He turned his head and saw what appeared to be a castle in the distance. He moved through the darkness, but the closer he go, the more uneasy he felt, his stomach was twisting in knots.

He heard a noise and quickly looked around for the source. Dream tapping into a nightmare was dangerous, especially since it involved his mind. To tap into any dream was putting oneself at risk and he always took that risk without fully thinking on what the consequences would be over his personal gain. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and turned his head towards it, his heart pounding in his chest, but he stood firm and kept a brave look on his face.

A little girl ran towards him from out of the bushes, tears in her eyes. She was small and pale and her hair was a complete mess from running, it was a brownish red and had a streak of blonde running through the front of it. The bow she had in her hair had moved out of place and was dangling dangerously on the tips, holding on for dear life. But it was her eyes, those terrified unusually bright green eyes, that he noticed most.

_Elizabeth?_ He stared at her as she stopped running. She must have been no more than five years old. Her clothes were tattered from running and hitting branches. There were cuts on her and blood on her hands, so much blood on her hands. It couldn't have been hers. He shuddered as he moved closer, but it was like she didn't see him, or knew he was even there. _She's seen me in her other dreams, why can't she see me now. What's so different about this one? Is it because it's a nightmare? _ He frowned as he came closer, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw her suddenly look up and right at him. But she wasn't looking at him.

She turned her head. A noise had caught her attention, and he could see the fear rising up in her, her breathing had increased and the panic was evident. She tried to get up but she was so exhausted, the running had taken its toll and stopping as she did had expended her energies. She stared into the bush she had come from. It rustled and a large man, covered in blood and dirt emerged from it. He was tall, almost bear like, with a grin that dripped with such malice and evil intent. He bounded towards her in a slow stalking manner. He was teasing his prey, making her believe that she could run off, but she was scared stiff, unable to move.

Scorpius tried to get to her, to help her run away but he couldn't move either. He was panicking inside despite the brave and calm look on his face. He felt like he was sinking into the ground and looked to his legs. They were still firm on the ground but he couldn't help but feel like he was being dragged down. He watched helplessly from his spot near her. So close but so far.

"You thought you could get away eh? You're the last one you know. Your parents didn't put much of a fight did they, thought if they distracted me that you could get away. How wrong were they huh?" He gave her a smile as he came close to her. "Finally Myrddin's last blood heir. I can be the one to rid the world of _your_ kind." He laughed as he came up to her, reaching out to grab her, banking on the fact that she was too scared to move.

Scorpius opened his mouth to protest, to scream out and get attention to himself, to give her a fighting chance, but he realized quickly that no sound made its way out from his drying throat, it was almost as if this were his nightmare. **His** little lioness fending for herself against this much larger predator, he couldn't take it. He fought to get free but it seemed the more he did, the more his feet stuck to the ground, the more he felt like he was sinking in.

He grabbed her in a tight hold, a snarl on his lips. This was going to be it, the end of Elizabeth Snow, and Scorpius struggled, struggled to get free to save his little lioness, but this was just a dream. She could die here and be safe in the real world right? He had to keep telling himself that before he hurt himself here. Worrying this way wasn't doing him any good. He looked toward her just as he heard her cry out in pain, his heart wrenched and twisted as if a knife had stabbed right through.

"That's right, give me a little scream you little wench. Oh how I dreamed of this. I offed your parents pretty quick, but I'll enjoy watching you squirm." He smiled wickedly at her as he began to squeeze her in his large hands, practically preening at her screams of pain and the soft whimpering that escaped her soft lips.

"Please… please stop." She begged, but he wouldn't stop, he only did more. He squeezed and pulled at her small limbs before he finally threw her down on the ground.

"I'm going to cut you in tiny little pieces. No one will know who you were when I'm done with you." He proceeded to pull out an already bloodied knife. "Hm… didn't clean it from when I did your mum and dad in, but oh well not like you've got to worry about catching anything off it seeing how you'll be dead." He gave her a smile and watched as she tried to crawl away. He stepped down hard on the back of her leg, there was a very audible satisfying crack that sent shivers of pleasure down his spine. He let out a gasp. Her scream of pain was orgasmic. "Pity, I gotta end you. Your screams are so delicious." He watched her squirm through the pain, trying to get free. It was pathetic. "Which part should I cut off first?" He stood there wondering before the knife came down on her, right into her shoulder blade. She screamed until she went hoarse. He pulled the knife out of her, making sure to wiggle and twist it to cause more pain. He forced her onto her back and stared down at her with a smile.

Scorpius growled and screamed out at her, trying to make her wake from this nightmare. "Snow you are a lioness! Get up! Wake up! This is just a dream!" He felt himself sink more into the ground, but he kept struggling to get to her. "This man isn't real! Wake up!" His heart was pounding in his chest, threatening to burst. "You're a bloody Gryffindor, show some back bone! _**WAKE UP**_!"

The man looked up in his direction with a smirk. "She can't hear you. She's all mine now." He laughed mockingly at the terrified look on his face.

The nightmare could see him?

"Time to end this. Yes?" He looked back down at her, a large grin on his face. But the smile faded when he looked down at her.

She stared at him calmly, her eyes flashed from their beautiful brilliant blue green to a molten gold as a strong burst of invisible strength knocked him clear off her and into the trees, the smell of smoke followed soon after as an orange light flickered from where he landed. His screams of agony were in the distance.

Scorpius could feel himself get free and began to crawl out of the hole he had sunk in. Once out he stood quickly and ran over to her. He lifted her into his arms and held her close. He didn't understand that urge that had come over him or why he did it, but he did. She was so tiny and fragile and she was losing so much blood. He cradled her gently, careful not to hurt her further. He examined the wounds and saw that the knife had gone through her left shoulder and out the front from when she was stabbed and he could see some of the bone from where the other man had crushed his foot into her leg. He winced at the sight before looking back down to the messy child in his arms. "You've got very dark places in your mind Lioness…" He did his best to comfort the stock still girl in his arms, or rather was it that he was holding her for his own reassurance, to calm his own distraught heart. He felt warm then, he was waking from the night terror at last and he knew she would be awake soon.

Elizabeth sat up from the floor, shaking as tears rolled down her cheeks. She reached up and ran her hands through her hair, pulling slightly at it. _What was all that about? And Scorpius was there at the end…_ She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. She wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon as she rubbed at her left shoulder. She looked up and saw the chair knocked over. She frowned, no wonder why she felt so damn stiff. She had fallen asleep at her desk. _At least the desk didn't fall on me like last time, explaining that to Madame Pomfrey was difficult. _She shook her head as she slowly got up. She checked the time and frowned as she went off for her bath. She had luckily woken up on time for breakfast.

In the great hall Scorpius let his eyes scan the Gryffindor table, looking for that familiar red hair, his heart was twisted in knots since the nightmare and he was hardly touching his breakfast, which caught the attention of his fan club. Although he wanted to confront her he knew the risk of doing so.

A) He would be revealing to her that he had been spying, even manipulating her dreams.

B) She might do something against him in retaliation.

He almost could imagine how hurt she would be to find out he had been tampering with her dreams. He mentally cringed at the look of emotional pain that he imagined on her pretty face. That was just as bad as imagining her in the physical pain he had seen her in. He wondered then, thinking back to the dream and the others times he had invaded them, the wound on her left shoulder from the dream, and the scar on the same shoulder bothered him more. He didn't want to believe that the dream was really a memory that had sat latent in her mind and come to surface. But the more he thought on it, he shook the disturbing images out of his head. He sighed and almost gave up looking for her when he turned his head towards the door.

She entered the room, looking flustered. It was apparent by her wet sloppy braid that she had rushed through her shower this morning. At least it was warm in the hall, but their potions class would be quite cold. She sat down with a plop on the bench and started to grab food from the plates as they magically appeared. She definitely had a lot more appetite then he did at the moment that was for sure.

When class came she had entered a bit late and collapsed into a heap in the chair. He gave her a cool gaze, a smirk on his lips although he was frowning at her condition on the inside. "Problem Lioness? Did you get run over on your way here?"

She looked up at him then as she haphazardly pushed some hair away from her face. Her eyes were tired and dull as she sat up straight and turned away, pulling her books out for the class. Her night had not been good and she didn't need him patronizing her. It didn't help that as she walked to class that morning she had to break up a fight, which resulted in her hair getting pulled out of place, even though it had already been a wet mess. She had gotten hit by a wayward spell in the process, but had managed to dispel the affects herself.

His jaw tensed as he stared at her. "hn…" He watched as she tried to at least tidy her hair, undoing the still wet braid and fixing it as quickly as she could. At least it was better then the frazzle mess it had been. "You're wetting me with your stupid hair."

"Get over it." She mumbled.

Professor Quintell raised a brow as she stood from her desk. "Settle down now lovelies. It's time for class to start." She walked around the room and looked at her students, mentally taking attendance as the quill on the desk floated to life and checked names. Her dark purple hair flowed with her as she glided across the floor like a ghost. She turned her attention to her two prized students and gave a quick look of concern before moving into her lesson for the day. "Now then today we will be brewing a special potion called Sanguine Wine."

The students looked at each other uneasily before looking back at her.

She went on to tell them what they would need, since this particular potion was not in their books. "You lot should be writing this down, it hasn't been added to your texts yet, and probably won't be for a very long time, but it is important should any of you come down with a case of vampirism."

"Why is that professor?" A random student from Gryffindor asked.

"Very good question," she smiled. "Should you ever be bitten and become a vampire, Sanguine Wine is a replacement of regular feedings, a pseudo blood, still rich in the nutrients that come in living blood, but at no cost to the surplus population. It is easy to make and there would be no need to visit local blood banks in the middle of the night looking for a fix."

A few shivered while others got a bit more interested in the task at hand, some sliding forward in their seats to lean in more.

"Yes well, back to the ingredients you'll need." She went on with the list as she walked around the room, keeping her eyes on her students but looking back to her two prized pupils. She had noticed something odd about them during the last few months, but the state that Elizabeth was in told her something was wrong. She would have to confront her later, woman to woman. She shook the thoughts off as she continued with the lesson. "The brew time for this must be precise, although it is easy to put together, the tricky part is in the order in which you compile the ingredients and brew. I've found that adding the ginger before the garlic makes this particular potion more potent in its ability to stave off the thirst. Any questions?"

Elizabeth raised her hand. "Professor, doesn't ginger and garlic work for blood circulation?"

"Indeed it does, by increasing the circulation of the blood you are allowing the pseudo blood to be ingested properly. Vampires feel this need to drink because they are lacking blood in their own bodies. This is why they drink blood to survive, the less blood in their system the more dangerous for them."

"But don't vampires hate garlic?" Scorpius asked with a raised brow.

"That is a common misconception. Vampires are sensitive to smell and there are some odors that are stronger than others. Some love garlic, some don't. It's also smell that drives a vampire when on the hunt, not just sight. A girl may look pretty to a normal man, but to a male vampire that same female could be repulsive if her scent isn't right. He'd never think to drink from her."

"What about sunlight?"

Professor Quintell turned to the voice and looked dead in the eyes of Albus Serverus. "Well good of you to pipe up in class Mr. Potter." She walked towards him slowly. "Sunlight only affects a very weak vampire, particularly newborns and vampires who have not fed for five days. But those particular vampires who do not feed for long lengths of time begin to lose themselves in the madness the hunger creates."

"Professor! When you say _newborns_ do you mean newly made vampires or… vampire children?" A confused redhead asked.

"I mean both, Ms. Weasley." Quintell said as she looked over at her. "A vampire can mate with a human and breed offspring so long as the human they mate with is compatible. The offspring can either be born human and later become vampire once they have reached a mature age, be fully human at birth, or be vampire from the start."

The class looked collectively amazed and horrified.

She looked over at them with a satisfied look. "Now let's get started." She grinned like a madwoman as she bounced around the room, motioning students to get things together to begin the potion.

Scorpius looked towards Elizabeth and nudged her. "I'll get the ingredients, you have that list written?"

She was leaning over the book, staring at it a bit before she shook her head and looked at him. "Yes…" She slid it over to him.

He raised a brow at her before taking the book. "You start the cauldron."

"Hm…"

He stood up to go, but looked back at her. "Snow, the cauldron, light it, now," he gave an annoyed look before mumbling under his breath a word he'd never say in public.

She gave a dismissive wave towards the cauldron and it lit wordlessly.

He raised a brow suspiciously but mainly intrigued and surprised although he would not show it outwardly. This girl was much more than she seemed. He had thought that of her before, but it was even more evident now, this and that nightmare he had witnessed just confirmed that there was more to the story then he knew and he had to learn more. But how to do it without her knowing was the question. He thought on it more as he walked off to get the ingredients on the list, his mind not fully into the potion but more on replaying the events in her nightmare, he could have sworn he heard the name _Myrddin_ before but he couldn't put his finger on it. He frowned as he made his way back to her, to see her head on the desk. The sleep she had gotten must have been minimal and he wanted to soothe her, but as a Malfoy and a Slytherin that was not in his best interest. So he did what he thought was best. He sat down and placed the ingredients on the table before he grabbed onto her leg from under the table and sliding his hand up her thigh as the other in plain sight, pushed her slightly. Her skin was smoother then he had imagined and it pleased him.

She jerked up, more at his hand feeling up her thigh under the table than the push. She looked at him wide eyed, but she said nothing, wanting to avoid a scene as she felt his fingers move to caress the inside of her thigh before pulling away.

"Welcome back to earth Snow, you should take better care of yourself. I don't want my grades to slip because you're falling asleep. Now let's start on this potion." He was calm in his speech although his heart was racing, glad that no one else had caught the exchange. At least, he thought no one did. He had failed to realize that Quintell was a hawk.

Elizabeth made a sight face, completely appalled by him. She felt warm and tired and warm and tired did not mix well. "Why'd you go and touch me for?" She hissed at him, the fire under the cauldron flared a little as if sensing her frustration. The flames sparked a small fire on the table, which Ameris had quickly put out.

She glared at the two of them. "That is enough from the two of you. You're both sentenced to detention, fifty points from each of your houses!"

Elizabeth flinched and looked like a kicked puppy, she didn't do anything, Scorpius should have been the one punished not her. She slumped in her seat and pouted, and if Scorpius hadn't been angry at her he would have found it adorable.

_A Slytherin prefect getting detention! _The very thought was madness, even more so for a Malfoy to get detention. His father of course had never let him know of his own misdemeanors, in fact, Scorpius thought his father had been the perfect pupil in school. They never talked about those times often. He glared at her as did many other Slytherins and a few from Gryffindor were glaring in her direction as well… but probably more at him for technically starting it. He began to wonder why he felt such an odd attraction to this girl, she was insufferable and she had somehow gotten him in trouble. But then, looking at her he felt defeated, he did start it after all.


	5. Chapter 4

-4-

Elizabeth was livid as she sat there in the potions classroom to serve the detention that Scorpius had gotten them both in. Of course, as expected, by lunch time, the whole school knew what happened. Rumors had spread that they were fighting in class. Gryffindors were telling tales of how she bravely set the snake on fire in an attempt to vanquish him, Slytherins were telling the whole school about how she tried to murder him in public. Of course these were milder rumors. No no the ones that had her completely livid where the ones claiming they had gotten into some sort of lover's spat. **A lover's spat!** Her eye pulsed and twitched with annoyance at the thought. When she heard some one talking about it in the common room that evening, she nearly exploded the fireplace and had to force herself to leave and head to this stupid detention. Who in their right mind would think that of them? They were enemies as far as houses were concerned. And as far as she knew, his family would **never** approve of such a relationship.

Scorpius strode in with a smug look on his face, apparently his parents had found out quite early in the day about what happened. He had returned to his room that evening only to be hit in the head by a howler, lucky for him no one had been in there. He didn't need his whole house knowing he had been yelled at. He frowned a bit when he saw the ticked off look on her face. He moved to sit near her, but the glare she sent his way had him sitting away from her, at least for now.

Ameris entered the room, cauldrons following behind her. "I don't know what's going on with the two of you, but I will not have you two having lovers quarrels in class."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she nearly stood out of her chair. "Amer- Professor! That's an insane accusation! Lover's quarrels! Are you mad?" She was stammering out of confused and unorganized anger at the accusation.

Scorpius, unfortunately, decided to play along. "We're sorry professor. We didn't mean to let our love come out in the open like that." He stood and slid in close to Elizabeth as he playfully wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. The reaction he got was worth it. Her face had gone several shades of red. She looked like she'd explode, or perhaps melt into his warmth.

She fought the urge to kick him.

Professor Quintell frowned and stared at him. "Then it is more reason for this punishment! This is a classroom, not a place for you to display your wants in front of the class. You two are my prized students, and you are to set an example." She turned her gaze on Elizabeth. "I will ask this once, is all of this really true?"

"No! Of course it's not true professor! I swear it." Elizabeth was hot with anger, and the fact that he was touching her wasn't helping her. She wanted to kill him. He came out of no where with this tale and it sent her head spinning with anger. Was it anger? She didn't know, but she was confused.

Ameris turned her gaze back to Scorpius, a glare fixed on him now. "I put you two together because you're both brilliant students and I had hoped that the barrier between the houses wouldn't hinder your performance. The last two months you both have been excellent in class. I did not put you two together for you to make sexual advances on her."

Scorpius went paler before a blush formed. _So she saw that..._

"Give me your wands." She said more calmly, holding her hand out to retrieve them from them. They both reluctantly did so. "Now the two of you will clean out every one of these cauldrons until they are completely spotless. Without magic. I don't care if it takes you all night, but you two will get this done. And let it be a reminder to behave in class."

Elizabeth grimaced as she looked at the pile of cauldrons, stacked almost to the ceiling. This was going to take a long time without magic and she could already feel her hands aching from it. Ameris sure did know how to punish people. She watched as Ameris walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

Scorpius silently glared at his house head before looking at the cauldrons. He looked over at Elizabeth before sighing. "I'll bring down what's on the top, you start on the ones on the bottom."

She looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "Actual team work?"

He frowned at her. "Yes actual team work, or we'll never get this done. Besides, the ones at the top are far too high for you to get to." He said as he looked her over.

It was true, she was pretty short. She gave a sigh. "Fine…" She got the cleaning supplies from the closet and started to work on the cauldrons that were on the bottom that she could get to as Scorpius worked on pulling the ones from the top down to the floor.

He looked over at her and clenched his jaw a little at the sight he was met with. She was sitting there bent over a cauldron, giving him a nice view of her back. If he wasn't careful something was bound to happen, and not end well. He couldn't believe he was being chalked up to doing manual labor. A Malfoy doing manual work, it was unheard of and quite belittling. He would get back at Professor Quintell, but he knew deep down he deserved the punishment, not that he would admit to that out loud. He frowned and heaved a sigh as he went back to work on taking down the cauldrons.

It was well past midnight when Elizabeth stopped working on her share of the punishment. She leaned back from cleaning her tenth cauldron and rubbed at her hands, trying to relieve the ache. She looked over towards Scorpius who was bent over a cauldron, scrubbing it clean. His clothes had gotten all dirty from his inexperience in cleaning. He had a scowl on his face and he looked like he had been through hell and back.

Scorpius stopped to take a break and looked over at her. "I guess now's a good time for a break then." He sat back before allowing himself to lie on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He was afraid to look at her, afraid of what he was capable of doing if he got too close to her.

"How many more?" She asked softly while stretching her legs out in front of her, trying to relax a bit as she surveyed the clean cauldrons versus the dirty ones.

"I counted thirty in all, how many did you finish?"

"Ten… you?" she asked as she moved to lay on the floor as well.

"The one right there is number eleven." He said, kicking the one nearest his foot slightly.

"So almost done then…"

"Yes." He said as he closed his eyes. They were just starting to get relaxed when the sound of their stomachs growled in unison. He opened his eyes and looked over at her, then to himself.

She blinked a bit before she actually laughed.

He turned to her and soon joined her in her laughter as he sat up. "Looks like we're both hungry."

She nodded. "Yeah, I didn't eat much at dinner."

"I didn't either, too much gossip for one day." He turned towards her and stared at her for a long time, her cheeks had gotten a bit dirty from the cleaning, but that didn't make her any less pretty, for a second he was reminded of the nightmare he saw her have and had to shake it off before his emotions could run rampant. A thought formed in his head, something to make all this right, why he desired to make it better he wasn't sure, but he was determined to. "After this… we should go to the kitchens, the elves will give us something to tie us over til breakfast I'm sure."

She raised a brow at him, he looked a bit hopeful and it confused her. "I…. um… alright, we'll do that. Let's get these last ones finished."

He nodded and went back to work, as did she.

Neither had been aware of Professor Quintell at the door. She had woken from a nap and went to check on them, but stopped at the door when she heard them talking, it seemed her plans were working after all. She smirked as she decided to leave them for now. As she walked down the hallway she could sense eyes on her. She shuddered at the feeling as she came to a stop and looked around. She was unaware of what was to befall upon her at that precise moment. It took her a few moments to realize the mistake she made in stopping as a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her into the darkness, giving her absolutely no time to scream.

In time the two managed to get the last of them done, both were extremely dirty and extremely tired. Elizabeth looked like she may not make it to her bed and there was no sign of their professor. He frowned as he went to Elizabeth's side and helped her up off the floor. "It doesn't look like she's coming back for us. I think we should leave."

Elizabeth looked up at him and nodded slowly. "I… guess. But what if she does come back? She still has our wands…"

"We can get them from her tomorrow. She is head of my house after all. I can get them in the morning and give it to you outside of the hall, wouldn't want anyone seeing me socializing with you outside of class or vice versa now do we?"

"I suppose not." She rubbed at her face. "I am in definite need of a shower after this…"

A dirty thought came to mind but he shook it off. "I think we should eat something first, don't you?" He still had her hand in his, and he wasn't ready to let it go, besides, she hadn't noticed just yet.

"Okay, a quick snack, shower then bed. Sounds lovely."

He nodded his agreement before leading her off, still hand in hand, to the kitchens. Elizabeth either didn't seem to mind that he was still holding her hand, or she was just too tired to care. He got to the large portrait and whispered to it, it slid open and they entered the kitchens together.

A house elf popped up to greet the visitors, she was wearing a poofy little dress and a little flower clip in what little hair she did have. "Master Scorpius, nice to see you it is." She chirped as she looked up at him with big round eyes that sparkled in the dim light of the kitchens with excitement.

"Hello Elphamine, it's lovely to see you."

Elizabeth perked up at the sudden bout of kindness. She raised a brow as she looked at him. Is he nice to everyone but me? But that can't be right, he's being pretty nice to me right now… maybe it's the tiredness.

"What can Elphamine get you master?" The small elf rocked on her heels, eager to serve and please the two students that graced them with their presence.

"Two hot chocolates and some biscuits would be nice."

"Right away! Elphamine will bring it to you." She disappeared with a pop.

"I didn't think you'd be so friendly with a house elf."

He turned to her. "Do you think me incapable of kindness?"

"It's easier to believe that you are."

"I see…" He turned away from her and moved to the table, where he sat down and patted the seat beside him.

She took the invitation and sat beside him, her eyes looking at everywhere else besides him.

He raised a brow, noting the tension and shook it off as he heard a pop. Elphamine had returned with what he asked for, two mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream, sprinkled with cocoa on the top, a chocolate wafer in it as a stirrer and a plateful of beautiful delicious chocolate chip biscuits. He gave the house elf a handsome smile. "Thank you Elphamine."

The house elf was practically bursting with joy. "You is very welcome Master. Elphamine is happy to serves." She disappeared once more with another pop.

He nodded to her as he partook of the sweet treats, glancing over to the girl beside him periodically. He wanted to start a conversation but he didn't know what to say. How frustrating… He frowned to himself. He never had this sort of problem before. He could have a conversation with a house elf for god's sake.

Elizabeth drank from the mug and gave a soft sigh, enjoying the warmth that was filling her, but it only served to help her get sleepier, in her tired state she was a bit more loose lipped as she finally turned towards him in her chair. "Scorpius… do you really fancy me?" She asked while trying to hold back a yawn.

He nearly choked and had to take a few deep breaths. He huffed before looking over at her.

"'Cause… you tease me a lot… and that's confusing."

"And if I do?"

"'hat's bad." She took another sip.

"Why?"

"'S'cause you're a snake an' I'm not." She told him with a yawn.

"Would you fancy me if I weren't?"

She was silent for a bit, as if thinking about it. "Yes." she said it with complete certainty. "If you weren't an ass."

He looked away, completely flustered, but ready to claim that the redness was from the hot drink in his hands and not from how quickly his heart sped up. How unlike a Malfoy to show such emotion. He'd get his revenge on her tonight, the moment she went to sleep. It was a miracle he was keeping so much restraint.

She was leaning a bit more into the counter. An outsider would think she was drunk, rather than just very tired out and trying with difficulty to keep awake. If this kept up Scorpius might have to carry her to her dorm room. Like the rumors of them dating weren't ridiculous enough, to be caught being carried to her room by him would only spark more.

After they drank up the hot chocolate and ate the biscuits they went their separate ways, to their respective dorms, where they would bathe and go to bed.

Elizabeth, once washed and ready for bed, climbed into the softness that awaited her. She brought the covers up and yawned, she wouldn't remember the conversation she had with him in the morning.

The great hall was abuzz with activity and murmurs from students the next morning. Elizabeth was weary, still suffering from the effects of sleep that her mind could only process the murmurs as noise. Her brain then processed those murmurs to more rumors about Scorpius and herself, but when she looked over to the Slytherin table and saw Scorpius looking worried she began to think otherwise. She allowed her ears to filter through the noise as she sat down and began to process what she was hearing. She got bits and pieces, but not whole sentences, and it annoyed her. Professor Quintell was mentioned a few times but what they were talking about completely flew over her head. She reached for her glass and began to drink from it, trying her hardest to wake up.

It took time for things to finally process that Quintell and missing were two words going hand in hand. She perked up instantly. Professor Quintell was missing. She started to look around in a panic, as if looking for Scorpius, and when their eyes met she felt a shiver run down her spine. There was worry in those cool gray eyes and that show of emotion terrified her. Scorpius was not one to openly show anything other than arrogance, and for him to show worry made the feeling of dread seep into her.

He stared into her eyes with a frown on his face. If she was missing, so were their wands. They were defenseless. He'd have to talk to the Headmistress before classes were to start again.

The headmistress cleared her throat. "Now now students, remain calm. Until Professor Quintell has returned, her classes will be converted into a study period. You will be expected to continue your studies until she returns from the point where she last left. That is all."

The panic settled down but the whispers continued. Professor Leons stared down at the table, a distant expression on his face. His brilliant gold eyes held some bit of worry in them as he stood up, his long dark hair bounced slightly against his back as he made his way out. He didn't give any one else a second glance as he stepped out into main corridor, his eyes flashed red and his skin began to crawl. He shook it off as he practically glided to his class room.

Elizabeth passed another glance toward Scorpius, something was nagging at the back of her mind about the last class she had with Professor Quintell, but the exact details just weren't clicking to place yet. She sighed as she stood up and made her way out as did some other students to start their day.

Scorpius saw her leave and stood up silently, following her as far as he could from a distance before having to turn and go in the other direction. He'd have to find some time to tell Headmistress McGonagall that they didn't have their wands, probably during lunch. At least he hoped he'd have a chance to. He sighed as he walked down the corridor, considering himself alone despite all the other students around him.


	6. Chapter 5

-5-

Professor Leons entered his class room and could feel the dread starting to sink in. Ameris was missing and something was odd about it. Who would attack her? Everyone loved that bubbly purple haired witch. His heart thudded in his chest as he began to pace the room. A shadow began to creep up along the floor boards and chuckled at his nervousness. He stopped mid-step and turned around. "Don't… don't tell me… it was you?" he asked the shadow with a quiver in his voice.

The shadow chuckled at him as it formed. It was a copy of him in almost every aspect sans the eyes… deep blood red eyes that lit up with mischievousness. "Dominic, sweet and true." The shadow form taunted as he came close to him, taking his face in his hands softly. He caressed his face.

He grimaced at the sight before him, the shadow hands were cold against his face and he could feel the hatred there in this creature's gaze. "What did you do?"

"Not me… not necessarily." He grinned, showing sharp fangs of pearl, he was the wolf and Dominic was the lamb. He chuckled at him, mocking his existence as he held his face. "The little witch waited far too long to make us that wine didn't she?"

He went deathly pale, paler than before as he tried pulling back. "What did you do?" He tried to ask with more authority, but his shadow knew him well, he had no authority over him.

He laughed loudly, it echoed in his ears. Dominic couldn't help but shudder. "I told you, it wasn't all me. You're a naughty one you know, once you get worked up." He ran his fingers across his face teasingly, his shadowy fingers trailed cold kisses against his warm milk white skin, his cheeks began to glow with a rosy hue.

The steps of the first student walking in came near and Dominic winced backwards as if burned by the frigid cold of his other self, who only looked at him with cold red eyes and a devilish smirk before slinking back into the shadows from whence it came.

Dominic shook his head as he made his way to his desk, looking for chalk to write on the board with. He took in a few deep breaths, still ungodly shaken up by the appearance of his shadow. He magicked the chalk to begin writing notes as the students started piling into the class room.

Elizabeth sat at the front as per usual and noted his odd behavior, but shook it off as he might be worried about Ameris, it was no secret that they spent a bit of time together, but the extent of their relationship was still unknown. Something nagged at her about it, but she ignored it, maybe she should talk to someone about it, maybe Scorpius. She paused in her train of thought and mentally beat herself. Why was Scorpius the first person to come to mind? She sighed and started copying notes as they were being written on the board by the magic chalk. Her mind went back to the missing professor and she fought with the emotion welling in her.

Dominic was mentally glad, he didn't have many students in his classes and that meant he could teach them as much as he could within the next hour and send them on their way, preferably early. He needed to find out what he had done the night before. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed that the chalk was writing a bit of what he was thinking until Elizabeth pointed it out. He had an embarrassed look on his face as he quickly erased it before making the chalk write the correct lesson. Of course the chalk retaliated with blowing its loose dust on him. He frowned at the giggles from students as he sat down and took the roll before starting the lesson.

Class went by as usual, Dominic excitedly talking about muggle objects and some of the students looking a little bored, at least until he went on about how muggles get information via technology. Elizabeth did know what some of the things he was talking about were, she owned a few since she did live in the muggle part of London. His take on electronic devices was quite interesting though. His motto always was that "Muggles do have magic, but they call it science." And it was clear to her that Dominic knew quite a bit on muggle science as well, but she wouldn't ask him.

When class was over and the students fled, Dominic gave a hefty sigh and turned to wipe the board clean, he had tried to be animate over today's discussion but he couldn't find it in himself to do so. His mind was too wrapped up in thinking about Ameris being missing, and it showed in his behavior.

"Professor," Elizabeth had stayed behind.

He froze up mid wipe of the board before turning towards her. "Yes?"

"You're worried about her aren't you?" She had brought herself close to the desk to get a better look at him, the hand that was holding the eraser was trembling.

He heaved a sigh. "Is it that obvious?"

"A bit." She smiled softly before taking a look around, she was making sure no one else was around for this conversation. She was unaware that Scorpius had hung back just outside, waiting for her. "I'm worried about her too."

"Oh?"

"Yes... she is after all..."

"Oh right, I remember. Ameris told me." He gave her a weak smile. "This must be very troubling for you considering..."

Elizabeth winced. "Yes... I've lost a lot, I don't need to loose her too..." she confessed. She felt she could share her worry with him since the two professors were seemingly close.

"It's possible she went out into the dark forest late in the night for herbs... she does tend to do that. Perhaps she got lost." He was trying to reassure himself, and hopefully her. He looked up at Elizabeth and nodded. "I'm going out to search for her there, I'm sure she lost herself in her musings, you know how absent minded she can get while searching for ingredients."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, that is true." She gave a hopeful smile. "Well I hope you find her, she'll be upset if she misses tonight's dinner, it is after all her favorite meal of the day."

Dominic laughed wholeheartedly. "I had assumed that all meals were her favorite."

Elizabeth giggled as well. "Well... good luck professor." She smiled and turned away, she picked up her bag and headed off. Her smile fell as she headed out of the room, her mind on Ameris.

He watched her go and mumbled to himself. "I'll need it..."

Elizabeth walked out the door and made a turn, only to bump into Scorpius. She opened her mouth to excuse herself, but was stopped when he grabbed her arm and dragged her away. "Where are we going? Don't we have enough rumors going around?"

"Shut up and come with me." He half dragged her to one of the many abandoned classrooms on this floor. He closed the door and grabbed Elizabeth from behind, setting her on the desk before settling in a seat.

She was blushing, confused at his actions as she pulled the robes to cover her knees. "What's going on?"

"Don't be thick, Snow. I heard the two of you talking."

She raised a brow. "You... sound jealous."

"I am not! That is a preposterous thing to even suggest!" He glared at her, although a small part was.

She rolled her eyes and looked away. "I guess so..." It didn't help her to remember the dreams of his hands caressing her body as she moaned out his name to the heavens. She shivered slightly at the memory.

He smirked at the shiver and he stood up. He brought himself close to her, forcing her legs to part so that he could stand in between. His heart thudded in his chest, was he about to be as bold as he was with her in their shared dreams?

"S...Scorpius?"

"Think Snow... isn't this strange?"

"W...What?"

"Professor Quintell disappearing after her lecture on vampires... and Professor Leons..."

"She did seem to know a lot..."

"Seem? No she knew how to brew it perfectly, like she had been doing it for years."

"You don't think?" She looked down at him, feeling him pressed up against her made her nervous.

"Of course I do. I don't know if you noticed but a few days ago he did look rather pale, and today he looks rather healthy." His breath ghosted hotly against her skin, making her shudder.

"He...he did seem rather sickly..."

"Just think... of how powerful a hungry vampire could be." He asserted such notions by displaying them on her. He pinned her down easily to the desk. "How helpless a victim could be." He licked his lips as he looked down at her. "How easily an unsuspecting victim can be taken in to a room against their will..." He leaned closer to her.

Elizabeth's breath hitched, her heart was pounding in her chest. She couldn't move, her body was heating and her insides were turning to mush.

Scorpius managed to loosen her tie and the first few buttons of her shirt, enough to expose her neck and went for the kill, he gave it a soft lick before pressing his lips to the spot and biting down, the moan he was met with had quite a good effect on him, he had to will himself to not pull her panties off and take her there. He wondered what kind the naughty lioness was wearing this day. He pulled away and looked down at her, at the redness of her soft cheeks, the part of her plump lips. Oh how he wanted to ravish her now on this abandoned desk, he wasn't supposed to show this amount of affection towards her outside of their dreams, but he found it hard to restrain his need to feel her in the here and now.

She was at a loss for words. What was this snake doing to her? Was this his excuse to touch her? What kind of game was he playing? All she could do was stare up at him as her body started to overheat with need.

He stared down at her, into her eyes, and he was done. He felt himself unravel. He was pulled into the depths of her emerald orbs. He needed to move away, but instead his hand trailed down to her thigh as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

She gasped into the kiss. _Am... am I dreaming?_ She returned his kiss out of instinct.

_I need to stop myself but I can't. She's here under me now and I want her._ His hand trailed over to her inner thigh and finally it found itself reaching to her panties. He could feel the smoothness of the fabric and the roughness of the lace. _She should have been a Slytherin, this naughty lioness._ As he traced the fabric he could feel the heat radiating from her and while his fingers slid further down to the point in which he knew to be her entrance, he could feel the wetness pooling there. A soft whimper reached his ears and he stopped, conflicted as he looked down to her. "Elizabeth..." He whispered softly to her.

She opened her eyes to look at him.

"You asked me last night... if I fancied you..." His voice came out slightly rough and needy, "well... I think it's safe to say that I do." His fingers found their way in her as he leaned in and kissed her deeply.

She moaned into the kiss, her core nearly exploded at the invasion of his fingers. She latched onto his shoulders for physical support, she was melting and loosing herself to her needs, her desires to have him now were getting stronger. She whimpered when his lips pulled away, his fingers still in her, wiggling inside. She gasped, her insides tightened around his fingers as she pulled herself closer to him.

He gave her a handsome smile. He wanted to curse the gods for blessing this female with such looks. No one for the rest of his days will ever compare to Elizabeth Snow in his eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest, just the look of her in heat made him want to do the unthinkable. He shuddered at the thought of sheathing himself in her, but knew that now would be too soon. Just knowing that he had satisfied her, if just with his touch, was enough for now. _Funny, a Slytherin willing to do something without gaining their own satisfaction, the world truly is coming to an end. And it is all because of __**my**__ lioness._

"S-Scorpius..." She fought her need to explode, but she was failing. Oh how she wanted him to do more than just please her with his fingers, which he had by now added a third to further increase her torture. Her hands found their way into his platinum hair.

"I want the name of no other man to pass your lips in this way, only mine..." He leaned in and kissed her lips again as he thrust his fingers into her deeply. He felt her arch under him as her grip around his neck got tighter, a mess coated his hand not long after. He chuckled and teased her by licking his hand clean while keeping his eyes locked with hers. He slowly moved himself off the desk, pulling her into a sitting position in the process, her shaky breaths breezed by his ear. He leaned back and gazed at her. "Are you alright... Lioness?"

She kept a firm grip around his neck as she looked at him, panting. "You snake..."

He laughed a little. "Would you rather I just use you to sheath myself?" He teased as he pressed a hot bulge against her still aching center.

She shuddered. "You brought me here to prove a point about vampires, not to take full on advantage of me."

"Advantage of you?" He frowned, "you could have stopped me at any time."

She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped. She sighed. "True, I could have."

"Why didn't you?" He still held her, he didn't want to let her go, he wanted her to be against him, to mold their heat together into one. He reached up to push the stray hair away from her face.

"I..." She paused, why didn't she? "The... moment... I guess."

"The moment?" His face lost any hint of amusement, a frown found it's way on his features. "So if any other had done this would you have allowed it? I didn't think you so easy Snow."

"No!" She frowned. "No... I wouldn't... I wouldn't have let anyone else..."

His scowl lightened as he gazed at her, she was confused. He forced her back onto her back and climbed on her again, pinning her down to the desk. "Then know this now Elizabeth Snow, by my word as a Malfoy, I meant those words I spoke to you now. I would think it evident by my actions that I more than fancy you."

She stared up at him, her cheeks flushed. "Really?"

"I will not say it again." He looked a tad embarrassed, and Elizabeth found it cute.

She giggled softly, it was bubbly and lighthearted as she gave him a bright smile. "Well then, does this mean the rumors are true?"

"In private, but... outside of that... we shouldn't press our luck. We are still students of our houses, prefects no less." He reached and caressed her cheek. "As much as it pains me to say this, but we must pretend... if only for a little while, at least until I can find a way..."

"A way?"

"Yes, a way for my family to be able to accept you the way I do. But I can assure you now, I will never let you go. True to the Malfoy name, I am quite possessive and protective of what is mine." _What is mine..._ he mused, _when had it come to that? _He buried his head into her neck a little. Perhaps it was the point when he realized that his teasing and taking her in dreams as punishment for her becoming his partner was in the end, a double edged sword, just as he thought it would be. That making love to her in their dreams had only made him want her outside of them. Or perhaps it was when he had stepped into her terrible nightmare and saw her screaming and crying in pain, unable to help her. He clutched her closer at the thought of it, that man hovering over her, stabbing her, breaking her. He clenched his jaw, he could never let her know he had seen the dream of two nights prior.

She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "Scorpius... I... I think... I think we should take this slowly. There's a lot we don't know about each other." She flashed back to her own nightmare and bit down on her bottom lip a bit.

He looked up at her. _I want her at my side... and if going slow is what she wishes..._ "Alright." He leaned up. "We'll go slow." He caressed her cheek lovingly, oh how he had come to adore her. "This is a side of me only you will see." He took her hand and kissed it softly.

She felt her heart flutter at the action.

"Well then... I suppose we should go tell the Headmistress about our wands soon." He stood up and helped her off the desk, helping her straighten up.

"Oh yeah... in the midst of all this I forgot about that..." She sighed a bit. _He's being gentle and kind... I'm not sure I can get used to this._

He lifted her palm to his lips again and kissed it gently, he gave her a smile, one that reached his stormy gray eyes and illuminated his face.

She gave a soft sigh, she loved that smile and wanted to see it more.


	7. Chapter 6

-6-

As Scorpius was asserting his claim on Elizabeth, Professor Leons left his classroom and made his way down the corridor, followed closely by his shadow, mocking him in his mind.

_Off to find your precious?_ The shadow chuckled as he continuously followed him through the halls, tormenting him.

_Where is she? Just tell me._

_Where would the fun be in that? Besides, night will come soon and I'll be out in the open, with you this weak you won't be able to stop me from gaining full control of you._ The shadow smirked. _I can hear her delicious screams again._

_Where did you put her?_ He raised his voice to his shadow and felt the arms wrap around him in a tight squeeze. He grit his teeth as he felt the hands caress his body roughly, if anyone had passed through the hallway they would think he was having a seizure. _U...ugh stop that._ His voice quivered as the hand reached down into the pants hidden in his robes. He turned himself so he was facing one of the large windows as a shudder passed through him, he could feel the hand caressing his shaft.

_Didn't you feel oddly sated this morning?_ The shadow teased.

_Please... please don't tell me I did something so deplorable..._ the thought of him doing something to Ameris against her will hurt him. He loved Ameris, adored her and the thought of him forcing her into something she may not have wanted wounded him.

The shadow chuckled and ran it's hand down his length slowly, teasingly. _Well go, find her before the sun sets._ He gave him another squeeze before releasing him.

Dominic shuddered and took in a deep breath as he fought to control the erection that had started to surface. With a sigh he made his way down the corridor. He started back by her potions classroom. He stood there for a good long while, analyzing the hallway for possible signs. Taking a glance towards the tapestry he found subtle scratch marks along the threads. He moved close and stared at it, being a vampire certainly had it's advantages. He could see small flakes of her favorite nail polish lost in the scratch marks. He visually followed the trail down the hallway. He walked along quickly, but not enough to stir suspicion as he tracked the subtle markings of her shoes scraping against the stone as she was forcefully dragged away. He got to a lone corridor that almost no one ever made their way to and looked along the floor to see the markings trail towards the wall.

He frowned deeply as he paced along the hallways, wondering why the trail ended at the wall. As he continued to think about Ameris' safety a door appeared in the wall. He stopped pacing and turned his attention to it. His heart jumped in his throat as he went and opened the door. The moment he was inside, the door closed behind him. He turned back and grit his teeth before looking around the room, it was lit with candles and sashes of golden satin draped the walls. There was a small dining table in one corner nearest to where the door had been with a basket of fruits and cheeses on top, an unopened chilled bottle of wine sat beside it and in the very center of the room there was a large four poster bed covered with the same golden satin sheets and matching hangings.

His heart pounded as he came close, his eyes fell upon the figure laying in bed as the smell of blood reached his nose and sent shivers down his spine. He shook the reaction off as he went to the side of the bed and pulled the covers away. He was met with a mass of slightly curled, messy violet hair, she was face down and wasn't moving. He gulped and fought not to cry out in anguish at the sight. What he could see of her skin was covered in bruises, cuts and bite marks. He sunk down to the bed and slowly rolled her to her back, exposing her half naked body to him more. A pained squeak escaped him as he pulled her into his embrace. He cradled her in his arms. "Ameris... oh Ameris please forgive me."

She felt his warmth against him and slowly opened her eyes. "Dominic..." her voice was weak as she reached out to touch his cheek. "There you are..."

His eyes widened as he turned towards her. "You're alive, thank goodness! Oh please Ameris, please forgive me."

"I'm... not angry with you, all this is my fault after all. I didn't get you the potions in time."

"No... Ameris this is not your fault. I'm so weak. I couldn't fend that side of me off and as a result I've made you a victim."

"I'm fine... really... you didn't take that much from me."

"But, all the bite marks and scratches... and the bruises..."

"My fault... I fought against you too much and I ended up hurting myself more." She gave a sheepish look.

He huffed at her and grabbed at her shoulders. "Ameris, you know a blood crazed vampire is too strong to fight against. I could have really hurt you."

"But I knew you wouldn't." She didn't look at him.

"Oh? You don't call this being hurt?" He brought up her arm that had light bite marks all over it.

She blushed. "You... got carried away..."

"Stop making excuses for me Ameris."

"I'm not making excuses!" She yelled but then reached up to rub at her cheek.

"What happened last night?"

"I don't think I should tell you, you'll only get angrier at yourself."

He leaned back and stared at her for some time. Neither had noticed that the sun had finally made it's way down. "Ameris I..." The shadow crept up along the stone floor and filled him, he could feel himself weaken to it's power. He turned his head towards the small window in the room and saw the light filtering in. "N...no... Ameris, get away from me."

She turned her attention to him. "Dominic...?" It was the first time she had seen him go from one form to the other and the change looked painful as Dominic tried to keep control away from the shadow, but he was failing without the intake of Sanguine Wine. His golden eyes slowly shifted to crimson as the vampir made its way to the surface. She couldn't move.

The pain seemed to subside as the sun disappeared from sight. He fell to the bed and laid there, motionless.

She reached out. "Dominic?" She asked softly as she placed a shaky hand on his head, running her fingers through his dark hair ever so gently. Before she knew it, her wrist had been grabbed and she was back on her back, pinned down to the bed beneath her.

"Please my dear, I told you my name is Alphonse." He looked down at her and into her bright hazel eyes with his own dark crimson. He licked his lips at the sight of her, his own black hair mixed with hers as he hovered over her.

"A...Alphonse..." She shuddered at the way he looked at her.

His lips turned to a smirk as he looked at her. "Yes that's it my dear." He chuckled as his hand moved to cup a breast. He gripped what he could of her large mound and squeezed it in his strong hand. The moan he got from her was satisfying. He leaned away, long enough to rip what was left of her clothing off. "Forgive me for my haste last night, I'm sure you understand how strong my need for you was. But this time my pet, I will see the whole thing." He smirked as he pulled it all off in one motion.

She reached to cover herself. "Oh no you don't! Alphonse don't!"

His eyes narrowed at her, but since she was concerned about covering her breasts, it left the already partially torn panties exposed. He smirked as he ripped them clean off her, rendering her entirely naked before him. "I don't see you having a choice in the matter my sweet. Dominic desires you but he's too weak to take you. I will take you and fill this womb until you are bursting with child." He ran his hand along her stomach slowly, teasingly.

She shivered. "Is that your plan?"

"Of course. Your scent is so intoxicating, I don't know how he can stand being beside you all the time and have the will not to ravage you." He leaned down to her and sunk his teeth into her breast, the blood from there was rich with nourishment, perfect for when she would bare his spawn. He chuckled as he felt her wiggle. He pulled away and licked his lips. "I was gentle with you last night, tonight I will not give you such treatment should you continue to resist."

She was teary eyed as she looked up at him. "A...Alphonse please, was last night not enough for you?" her voice cracked, if Dominic knew that his other half had forced her down the night before and took her over and over, he would never forgive himself.

"One night will never be enough." He said in a husky tone as he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. "If you comply I will be gentle, you will feel nothing but pleasure, but should you resist, you will force me to hurt you. And I truly wish not to hurt my mate."

"Ma...mate..." she flushed, had he really fully claimed her last night? Had she really been too much in a daze to notice that he had marked her as his.

He chuckled. "The meek me waited too long to bed you, but the strong me, the me that wants to shower you in nothing but the best of everything will not make that same mistake." He caressed her breasts softly. "Be willing and I will give you all I have, resist and I will forcefully give this to you." He pressed himself against the soft mound of her entrance, allowing her to feel the raging passion and need.

She stared up at him. "Alphonse... you make yourself to be worse than you are, but you're really just an overly passionate man aren't you?"

"Oh do not interpret my affections for you as kindness, I am as vile a creature as they come. If you were just dinner, you would be dead at this moment." He assured her before leaning back and beginning to remove himself of his clothing. He would waste no more time.

When she realized what he was doing she rolled onto her stomach and started to crawl away. "Alphonse please, don't just... just give me more time."

He growled and grabbed her by her hips. "You test my patience!" He roared at her as he pulled her back against him, expertly sheathing himself into her warmth. It wasn't as moist as he had wished it to be, but with her struggling to get away, he couldn't waste time.

She cried out in pain at the forceful nature of his invasion. "N...no please!"

"Your pleas fall on deaf ears my sweet. You are mine and I will take you as I please. I asked you nicely to comply, warned you of the consequences of your resistance, but still you try." He grabbed hold of a large chunk of her hair and pulled her into an arched position. "So prepare yourself." He leaned into her neck and bit down roughly, earning a cry of pain from her as he thrust upwards into her. He let go of her hair and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her in position as one hand slid to claim her breast while the other hastily dipped down to her lower lips. His fingers slid against them before finding the sensitive little nub. He pulled away from her neck and felt her slump a little against him, defeated as he licked the new wound, his finger rubbed the swelling nub in soft circular motions, anything to get her more moist.

She gasped, quivering against his movements as her hands reached to grip at his wrists, her mouth open in soft moans. She almost sounded needy for the treatment.

He chuckled deeply against her ear, he remained wedged in her but refused to move, teasing her with the fullness, knowing that deep down his woman wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Or perhaps really it was her want for the weak one. He frowned at the thought. _She adores the weak me, I see it when they're together, but now is my chance to sway her in my favor._ He slid out of her and lay her face down before rolling her onto her back. He parted her legs and sheathed himself in her swiftly, enjoying the gasp that came from her lips. He leaned over her and stared down into her eyes. "Ameris."

"A...Alphonse?" She squeaked, as flirtatious as she could be, she was meek before this vampire.

He chuckled. "You truly are sweet my dear potions mistress. I enjoy being inside of you."

She flushed at his words. Although she had always put herself out as a flirt to others, last night with him had been her first time, her body was still inexperienced and she knew in her heart that he knew.

"I am proud to have been the first and only creature to have ever bedded you. I truly enjoyed your screams of delight my dear. No matter how much you pretend, you and I both know that your body ached for the pleasure of me as much as I ached for the pleasure of you."

"Y...You're saying such... embarrassing things..." Her cheeks were coloring more.

The pounding of her heart hardened him more, he would be filling her all night at this rate. He could hear her blood rushing in her veins and the sound alone intoxicated him. He grunted before thrusting himself up into her, deep as he could, wedging his shaft as far in as possible.

She cried out at the feel and reached up to her cheeks, she was melting under him. "P... please..." She squeaked.

He looked pleased at the turn of events as he pulled out, only to thrust just as deeply into her. He grabbed at her thighs before beginning to push deeper into her with each of his thrusts, his shaft had already begun to throb from his excitement paired with the sounds of her pleas and moans. Despite how rough he had been initially, he was trying, with much effort, to be gentle with the human woman beneath him. He didn't want to outright force her, but she just had no idea how crazy her scent made him, how much he really wanted her, how much he needed her for his survival. He didn't want to imagine himself without her. She was his mate whether she wanted it or not, and he would never in a thousand lifetimes find another woman as perfect as Ameris is for him

_I am lost, I can no longer control my urges. But my heart, it aches. Oh Dominic, forgive me for giving in to my needs and desires for you. I can only wonder just how different the experience of being made yours would be if it were you in control. _She moaned out and found herself reaching to him, caressing his shoulders as she pressed against him for more.

Alphonse was indeed pleased. _In time she will see I am the better one. _


	8. Chapter 7

AN: Note that from this chapter, previous chapters have been updated, revised and or rewritten. If you are a story follower, please go back and read the previous chapters over as some of them have been changed. Thank you -HeavensEvangel

**-7-**

Elizabeth came out of her dorm room and headed down the stairs, she couldn't help but notice the strange looks she got from both girls and boys as she reached the common room. She raised a brow. They've been paying much more attention to her since rumor spread about her and Scorpius. She frowned. She heard whispers about her as she walked past. They had never paid attention to her before, she had been nothing but a name and an unknown face. But since this year started people have been looking at her more and more, and it irked her. She was not used to all this unwanted attention and wondered if this is what it felt like to be a celebrity. She shuddered. Nope that wouldn't be the life for her. Ever. She walked toward the portrait hole, but stopped when she heard her name spoken by two girls. She gave a sideways glance their way and listened.

"I can't believe a traitor like her is in our house. I mean, she's dating that snake."

"I know! She's supposed to be one of us. I heard he dragged her off somewhere after one of the classes."

"Probably snogging."

Elizabeth felt the anger boiling in her as she listened in. _They're not worth it, they don't know anything about you, just let it go._

"You know, I thought it was weird that both our houses would lose someone this year. What a coincidence that they would end up paired together."

"I always thought that girl should have been a snake. How else would she have gotten her own dorm room?"

"Right! What gives her special privileges, she should be in a dorm with other girls like the rest of us."

"She's just a muggle born right? She shouldn't have privileges or one of the hottest guys in school looking at her like that, I mean... you know even if the guy is a snake, he's still good looking right?"

The other girl nodded and they giggled, only for Elizabeth to feel her head almost explode with her temper. The fire in the fireplace had grown in intensity, causing some to gasp in surprise. None of them had ever taken the time to befriend her or get to know her. She grit her teeth and forced herself to stomp out.

Once out of the room and not nearly away enough from the portrait hole, she vaguely heard the fat lady mumble something about the situation. She winced and shook her head, she needed to see the headmistress and tell her about the wand problem. She sighed and crossed her arms.

When she arrived at the entrance to the office, she saw him standing there, almost like he was waiting for her. _He's just here about his wand... that's all. _But as she got closer she noted how he shifted and turned his gaze in her direction. She faltered in her steps before fixing a glare on her face despite the blush that crept to it.

"Lioness." He said simply.

"Snake." She offered her acknowledgment in return, there was a slightly angry tone in her voice, not necessarily directed at him, but he caught it none the less.

Alone in the hallway, he dropped the arrogant facade and fixed her with a look of concern. "What happened?" He asked in a hushed tone. Standing close to her, he brushed his fingers against her hand.

It was a movement that caused her to jump slightly and her glare to drop. She sighed. "I've been branded as a traitor of my house."

"Why?"

"Because of the rumors." She frowned and sighed. "Well rather because of the truth." She shook her head. "I don't know why it matters to them at all, they've never thought twice about me before."

He went from brushing her hand to full on grabbing it. He didn't like hearing the sadness in her voice. "To hell with all of them then."

She looked at him. "Scorpius?"

"You say they never cared about you, well forget about them." He mumbled, "all you need is me." He said as he looked at the floor. He could feel her gazing at him.

She bit down on her bottom lip and turned her gaze to the stone gargoyles who seemed to be looking at them with amusement. She flushed deeply.

They didn't notice that McGonagall had arrived behind them until she cleared her throat. "Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Snow. To what do I owe this visit?" She asked curtly.

They pulled away, Elizabeth looked away with an embarrassed look on her face while Scorpius stuck his hands in his pockets.

Scorpius spoke first. "Headmistress, we have a problem."

"Do tell."

He looked up at her and sighed. "It's about our wands. We had detention with Professor Quintell and she confiscated them, she still had them when she went missing."

She frowned deeply at that news. "I see. I will check her office to see if they may have been in there, or perhaps in her private room."

"Thank you headmistress." Elizabeth said as she bowed her head.

"Yes, yes, now get to breakfast before class. Should I find your wands they will be returned to you."

"Thank you." Scorpius said this time.

They looked at each other before taking their leave, heading in the same direction. When they thought McGonagall had gone into her office, their hands joined again silently.

Minerva felt a tug at her lip as she watched them go. "Interesting, the rumors are true then." She said more to herself.

The gargoyles turned their heads to look towards her, amusement still in their eyes.

She chuckled and entered her office without another word.

Elizabeth pulled her hand away when they got closer towards students, causing Scorpius to frown at the lost of contact. "I'll head in first, wouldn't want them seeing us together."

He grit his teeth and fixed a glare to her back as he fought the urge to grab her and mash his lips to hers. How can she hide this so easily? He frowned, and here he was supposed to be the cool one. He growled and watched her go before following far behind.

Elizabeth entered the hall to the looks of several people looking at her, both from the Gryffindor and Slytherin sides. She felt uncomfortable as she tried to get a seat, but was blocked until she had to sit on the very edge of the bench.

Scorpius had come just in time to see her struggling to get into the seat at the table, everyone was purposely blocking her, ostracizing her for something that had nothing to do with them. He felt his fist clench but he walked away to his own table. The other Slytherins knew better then to do the same to him. He ate silently, his table had switched from conversations about the rumors to other things. As he ate breakfast, he watched her struggle to even get fed, but kept his a disinterested look on his face as if nothing could bother him.

They reached the potions classes with dread. No sign of Professor Quintell meant a study hall period being watched by crusty old Flitch, but when they entered the room, they were pleasantly surprised by the sight of their professor, humming softly as if she hadn't gone missing for the last few days.

She turned towards them and smiled. "Hello dearies! To your seats please and close your mouths, you wouldn't want a pixie to fly in."

The sound of mouths closing shut collectively echoed in the dungeon classroom as the students shuffled forward to their seats, staring still in disbelief.

On Scorpius and Elizabeth's table were their wands, waiting for them, almost as if they had left them there themselves. They passed a glance to each other as Ameris went about role and continued to teach the class exactly where she left off last.

Elizabeth looked her way, she would be having a talk with that woman when this was over.

Scorpius was inclined to stay and hear, but he didn't want to be visible for it.

When class had ended, Elizabeth hung back as she had planned and confronted her. "Where have you been?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Ameris asked as if she were clueless.

"You know what I mean! Do you know how worried I was?" Elizabeth glared at the older woman and only got a smile in return.

"I'm so glad to know you still worry about me." Elizabeth was pulled into a bone crushing hug, neither aware that Scorpius had stayed by the door and had been pretending to just be standing there ready to pick a fight with Snow the moment she came out of the room.

"'Meris..." Elizabeth choked out and pulled away. "Where were you?"

She hesitated.

"Ameris!" She hissed at her.

She sighed. "I ran into trouble, that's all. It's resolved now and it won't happen again." She sank a little at the tearful look on Elizabeth's face. "Bethie..."

"Don't. Don't call me that right now." She wiped her face and stormed out, leaving Ameris staring at her retreating back, looking guilty.

The moment she was out, Scorpius reached out and managed to catch her sleeve, stopping her in her tracks.

She was frozen in her spot, staring at the floor.

He let his hand drop, staring at her back as she fled from him too. _What was that about? What am I missing? _Ameris came rushing out the room after her shortly after he let her go. He couldn't help but glare at the woman's back. She upset his lioness. She may be his head of house, but _no one_ upsets his lioness. He noted his sudden possessive protectiveness and heaved a sigh, lucky to be alone in the corridor. He had wanted to keep this whole thing secret, to keep whatever it was that was budding away from prying eyes, but the more things happened, the more he found himself starting to slip up.

Snow had acted as though there was nothing between them the whole day, like they had planned, but he found himself uncharacteristically shifting in his seat with discomfort when ever she leaned over to him or close to the cauldron while they were working on the practical half of the lesson. His mind had continuously shifted to what had happened in the abandoned classroom, how he had pinned her down to the desk and how close he had been to taking her. Despite the cold of the dungeon, he felt hot.

But now she was upset and she had run off, and he was utterly lost as to what to do. Should he break the promise of keeping it secret or should he continue on with the day as if he didn't see the tears falling from her eyes or the hurt she had in them at breakfast when even her own house was treating her like she had the plague. He balled up his fist. He was going no where like this. He shook his head as he made an effort to ignore his inner instincts to run off after her and headed to class.

It was night when he saw her again, this time in the hall way during their rounds. Normally he wouldn't have gone out, but damn it all, he needed to see her. Especially after seeing the hurt in her eyes at dinner. It did not make him happy. He wanted answers, if he didn't get them from her, he would find a way to get them from Professor Quintell. He followed her down the hallway and cornered her. "Snow."

She stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing here?" She asked softly. "As I remember your house hardly ever goes out to run rounds."

"I needed to see you." He said softly as he reached out and grabbed her sleeve just as he had done early that day.

She sighed and turned to look at him. "Why?"

The dryness in her tone bothered him. "Elizabeth... you're upset and you've been crying. Isn't..." He paused, "isn't a boyfriend supposed to comfort his girlfriend?"

She looked surprised when he said that, and even more when he stepped forward to wrap her in his arms. He didn't seem to care if they got caught or if anyone knew that the rumors were becoming true. "Scorpius..."

He pulled back to look down at her. Staring into beautiful emerald eyes, he reached and pushed the hair away from her face. "Elizabeth." He kept his gaze on her before in one fluid motion he captured her lips with his.

She seemed to melt into the warmth the snake was providing her in the cold dark hallway. She closed her eyes after the initial shock had worn away and kissed him back.

He felt pleased as he held her closer before pulling away, still holding her protectively in his embrace. He didn't want to let her go. He took her to a nearby class room and sunk down to the floor with her, holding her in his lap. He wanted to take away what was bothering her, but he knew he couldn't unless she told him what it was. So he did the next best thing. He held her closely and rested her head against his chest so she could hear his heart beating for her. He only knew to do this because he'd seen his father do it for his mother whenever she was upset about something neither could control. He sighed and looked down at her as he stroked her hair. He was heartbroken for her. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of it, apples and vanilla invaded him. The smell of his lady love was so clean and so warm. An amused smile came to his lips.

She reached up and rubbed at her eyes. She was surprisingly comforted by his warmth. "She's inconsiderate." She said finally, breaking the silence.

Scorpius pulled back to look at him. "Who?"

"Ameris." She said simply before turning her head to look at him. "She's inconsiderate."

"What happened?" He asked as he brought a hand up to wipe at her eyes. His touch was soft, gentle, like a feather ghosting across skin.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head to the touch. "Some times she just doesn't think about other people's feelings. She just dismisses it. I know she means well but," she paused and looked down at her lap, "didn't she know I was worried?"

He remained silent. _So, Snow knows my head of house personally, this is interesting. I want to know more but I don't want to push her._

She sighed and slowly looked up at him. "Aren't you going to ask?"

"I was hoping you would just tell me."

"Hn." She raised a brow and looked him over before turning her attention back to her lap. "Ameris is a friend of my family." She said softly. "I started living with her when I was eight."

"Why would you be living with her instead of your family?" He asked with a raised brow.

She winced. "My... my parents died when I was young. I was sent to live with my aunt in London but three years later she died too. Ameris took me in since I didn't have next of kin."

"Sorry." He looked down at her. The somber expression on her face only reminded him of that nightmare he had seen, but he had to act the curious boyfriend. She didn't need to know what he had seen. "How did they die?"

Elizabeth went rigid and averted her gaze. The memory was painful, but she could at least tell him the gist. "They were killed." He opened his mouth to say something but she placed her hand over it. "Please, don't ask any more. The guy who killed them was some lunatic and they never found him." She bit down on her bottom lip. "That...That's all I'm willing to tell. So please, Scorpius don't bring it up again."

He nodded and pulled her hand away from his mouth. _So much trauma but yet she endures. The more I hear the more I feel for her. _His mind wandered back to that nightmare and now with this piece of information, it just cemented that it was more then just some bad dream.

"I was... I was just upset because I feared the worst, but she just brushed it off and that made me more upset. That's all."

"I understand."

She tried getting up then, but he stopped her. "Scorpius... we shouldn't be here together for long, if someone sees."

"Let them."

"Scorpius, you were the one that said we had to keep this secret."

"I know what I said." He grumbled and forced her to stay in place. "I just never realized I'd have this hard a time." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Seeing you upset today I just, I just wanted to," he frowned, trying to find the words for what he was feeling. There were just so many emotions at one time and he just didn't know how to handle them, he had never been confronted with something like this before. He was used to teasing the girl and sexually tormenting her in their shared dreams but this, this was new, foreign. He wanted to be affectionate with her. He wanted to say to hell with it and just let the whole school know now. But seeing how her own house had treated her today, he knew he couldn't.

"It's alright." She gave him a smile, "just keep pretending you hate me."

"I don't know if I can." His voice was merely a whisper as his hand trailed against her thigh.

She flushed. "You have to."

"I don't want to."

She let out an exasperated sigh, "stupid snake, this was all your idea you know. Until you could find a way for it to be accepted, remember?"

"I remember." He grumbled. "I just didn't think it would be this hard to stay away from you."

"It's only been one day!"

"One day too long." He tugged her into a tight hug. What he wouldn't give to just ravage her now, but he had to be patient, he wanted it to be special. No, he'd do it tonight in the dream world, as always. He had absolutely no restraint now.

She laughed softly and pulled away. "You sound like a child you know?"

A pout graced his features, before the smirk replaced it. "Well then, at least that means you'll have practice for our little ones."

Her face colored. "You're thinking that far ahead?"

"I told you... Malfoys are possessive. You didn't think that I just wanted to have some fling did you? I could have done that with any of the girls that constantly follow me." His hand reached and rested against her stomach. "I wouldn't go through all this effort just for something short term."

"What happened with going slow?" She mumbled.

He laughed then, the smirk still plastered on his face. "You act as though I'm going to start trying now." His hand moved to her thigh again where he began to slide it further up and under her skirt. "Unless that's what you want." His hand reached her inner thigh, warmth was radiating from there.

"We're only sixteen Scorpius!" She reached to push his hand away, face burning redder.

He chuckled and placed his hand against her cheek, turning her face to him. He leaned into her and kissed her softly. "I'm not planning on you carrying my spawn just yet, alright?"

Her cheeks puffed out with air. "What if I don't want that?"

"Then I'll wait until you do." He said with a cocky smirk, amusement in his voice as he looked at her. He really enjoyed these reactions. He felt a tightness in his pants and did his best to ignore it, yes tonight he would be having his way with her.

She sighed and managed to get up. "I really should get back to patrol." She fixed her clothes.

He watched her for some time before standing up and looking at her. "Right."

"Thank you." She said as she turned back to him.

He raised a brow.

She sighed. "For actually comforting me. I do feel a lot better now." She gave him a smile.

His lip twitched and he gave her a genuine smile before he closed the gap and wrapped his arms around her. "You're welcome." He leaned in and kissed her with a gentleness he didn't know he had.

She returned the kiss and pulled away. "Right well... back to work!" She pulled away quickly and nearly tripped over herself in her haste.

He fought not to laugh and waited for awhile, his mind wandering with itself. _I know at least some of the truth now. But it still doesn't explain why some random man would kill her family. He had to have some sort of reason. _He mentally replayed the nightmare in his head, trying to pick key features from it. A name came out at him like white on black paper. _**Myrddin**__. I know I heard that name somewhere before. Maybe I can find out from the library. _With a plan in mind he headed off and back to the dungeons. Now that he had seen her and knew she was alright, he could go back to being him, at least that's what he told himself.


	9. Chapter 8

-8-

Over the course of the next three weeks, the rumors had died down about her and Scorpius. Of course since their conversation that one night, they had both been too busy to spend much time with each other outside of class. With exception to a few sparse late night meetings in abandoned classrooms and in her dreams. She still did not know she was under a spell, and he would never reveal it to her for fear of how angry she would be at him. Scorpius had been spending every free chance he had at the library looking for clues on who this Myrddin could be. He checked any text he could get his hands on but nothing yielded him results. He would have to search elsewhere. Christmas was in just a week and he still hadn't made a decision as to what he wanted to do either. He flopped down in a chair and scratched at his chin, scraping his nails along the stubble. He would have to shave soon. His father always stressed how important it was to be groomed, but recently he couldn't help but slack off. Finding answers felt more important.

He heard someone shout in the common room and glanced over to see what the fuss was about with mild interest. He heard them talking about Hogsmeade. He had forgotten that this was a Hogsmeade weekend, the last before Christmas. He mentally kicked himself for waiting this long. He stood and got up quickly with the intention of getting dressed and rushing out with the rest of the crowd to head into town. In his rush to leave he hadn't bothered to shave, but that didn't make him look any less handsome.

The town, was as always around this time of year, blanketed in snow. The cottages and shops were decorated for the occasion, holly wreaths hung on the doors while the enchanted candles hung on the trees. Even though this was not his first time in the village at yule time, he couldn't help how warm it made him feel inside. He shook his head and stuffed his hands into the black wool jacket he wore. He still had yet to decide if he wanted to stay at Hogwarts or go home this year. He returned home nearly every year, but if she stayed, he knew he'd want to too. A smirk came to his face, but he shook it off. This was his first Christmas with a girlfriend he actually cared about and he wanted the gift to be special. He had no idea that she came down as well with similar intentions.

Elizabeth had hardly seen Scorpius outside of class and thanks to that, the rumors had died down. Despite all that, she missed him. She did say she wanted to take things slow, but not at a snails pace either. She didn't get to tell him that she wouldn't be staying yet. Ameris had a surprise for her and hadn't told her what it was, the only thing she knew was that they would be apparating to a location, and then going to their destination via the Floo Network. She hadn't argued with her. She knew this was her trying to make up for what happened earlier in the school year. She looked to the list in her hand. There were only three people on it, but she wanted to make sure she had the perfect gifts for the people who were important to her. She shook her head and headed off to the shops, intent on finding the perfect gifts.

They ran into each other at _Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop_ during lunch. "Snow." His heart caught in his throat when he caught sight of her looking at the selection of treats and teas. Luckily for them, not many students had been in there that knew them. A smile crossed his face as he came up behind her and spoke in the direction of the young witch working the counter. "I'll pay for whatever she purchases here."

She jumped up at the sound of his voice and stood up. "Scorpius!" She blushed deeply.

He smiled at her handsomely. "Hello."

"H...hi."

Not giving a real care for anyone that may see them in the shop, he threw caution to the wind and kissed her lips. "I missed you." He said when he pulled away. He put his arm around her shoulder as he turned her back to the display case.

"I...I..." She stammered, wrapping her head around what just happened. "What are you doing?"

"Greeting my girlfriend?" He said with a raised brow.

"But... what if," he cut her off with another kiss.

"No one from school is here, so relax."

She sighed in defeat, she didn't want rumors going around, even if they were true. Her house had finally stopped talking about her and she wanted to keep it that way. But she would be lying if she said his affections towards her, even though public, left her feeling happy.

"So, pick what you want." He said with a smile he'd only show her.

She turned her gaze to the display and picked a few sweets and finally a tea.

"Make that a pot please and two of all she asked for."

The young working witch nodded and scurried off.

Scorpius took her to a table that would be away from prying eyes should anyone actually show up. "I didn't know you were coming out today."

"Yeah well, last minute shopping. I wasn't expecting you here either, but I'm glad we've run into each other."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "Yes, I um... I missed you." She rubbed the blush away from her cheek.

He practically bristled. "Oh?"

"Don't make a big deal about it now."

He laughed heartily, startling her slightly. Out in the open, away from school he felt like he could be himself. Not the image of himself that he projected to others in his house, but the real him, the him he let her know in her dreams.

She watched him a bit and straightened in her seat as the woman came in and brought their order to them.

He nodded his thanks and slipped her the payment, he didn't bother counting, he knew he likely over paid, but he was too busy paying attention to the girl in front him.

The waitress blinked and thanked him profusely before heading away from them, the curtains that had been around the table had closed to give them privacy.

Both Elizabeth and Scorpius looked around them as they were enclosed and several enchanted candles began floating above them, setting a romantic mood. They both blushed. "Well... this is... "

He could only nod.

"Oh yeah well, I needed to talk to you about Christmas break." She said as she started to pour them tea.

"Are you staying?"

"No, every other year Ameris plans for us to go some where, so I won't be here, are... are you going to be here?"

He couldn't help the slight disappointment, but shook his head, this would give him opportunity to research. "I would have if you were staying, but I suppose I'll go back home. I need to have a talk with my parents."

"O...Oh?"

He coughed at how that sounded. "It's about school, something I'm researching about. I haven't found anything in the library about it and I was wondering if they might help."

"Really? What are you researching, maybe I can help too?" She took a sip of tea.

"Just a name I saw that was familiar, it's been bothering me."

"A name? What name?"

"Myrddin."

She went a little stiff at the name before looking at him. "And you said you saw that name before?"

He nodded. "I just don't remember where."

She relaxed a bit. "It's Welsh."

"Welsh?"

She nodded. "Myrddin Wyllt or Emrys in some texts." Scorpius cocked his head to the side, waiting for more. "I... can't believe you don't know this." She made a face at him. "Myrddin Wyllt is the Welsh name for Merlin the Wild. I thought all Slytherins would know that, seeing how Merlin was sorted into your house."

"How do you know all that?"

"Outside of school I like reading lore." She shrugged as she took another sip. "You can find out a lot at a public library or online."

"On...line?"

"It's a muggle thing." She raised a brow at the look on his face. "You really don't know much about muggle things do you?"

He gave a sheepish look. "I don't pay much attention in Professor Leon's class..."

She laughed a little. "I don't think any of the students actually do."

"You do."

"Because I've always lived in the muggle world. Even though I lived with two witches, I was always exposed to the muggle way of life."

"So, you're just taking the class to take it essentially because you already know about it."

"Yep."

"Cheater."

She grinned at him and ate a strawberry tart.

"You should have been in Slytherin."

"Some times I wonder why I'm not in that house either. I mean, I have most of the qualities of a Slytherin. I think the sorting hat just got lazy when it came to me."

"Why's that?"

"Most of the relatives I've known of had been in Gryffindor. It knew that and just presorted me before the hat could even fully sit on my head."

"Isn't your family from America? I thought you would have gone to an American school."

"My father's family had been American born but my mother's had been predominately European, mainly Welsh." She took another sip and glanced up at him as he did the same. "I think this is the first time you've actually asked me anything about my background. Most people just assume I traveled here from the states because of my accent." Elizabeth took another bite of the tart, some of her hair slipping out of place.

"So, why choose Hogwarts then?"

She leaned back in the seat. "I suppose I could have picked from a handful of schools, it's not like I didn't get offers, but I was already living in a loft in London with Ameris."

"Laziness then." He chuckled, "that's certainly a Gryffindor trait."

"Hey! I am not lazy. I just couldn't see myself going back there just for school or traveling too far from what I knew. Besides, Ameris teaches here, outside of school she can only teach me so much."

He looked at her for a time. "You look up to her don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Ameris has been like an older sister for me. She's honestly all I have for family."

Scorpius looked thoughtful as he reached to take another sip of tea.

_"You thought you could get away eh? You're the last one you know. Your parents didn't put much of a fight did they, thought if they distracted me that you could get away. How wrong were they huh? Finally Myrddin's last blood heir. I can be the one to rid the world of your kind." _

He shook his head of the thought. Just knowing the name wasn't enough, he needed to know more. "So, was your father a muggle?"

She coughed on her tea at the question and quickly composed herself. "Wasn't expecting you to just ask me that."

"Sorry." Scorpius gave her a guilty look as he offered her a napkin.

She took the napkin and wiped her mouth. "No. He wasn't a muggle. He went to a school in the states. My mother met him during a conference there."

"Must have been love at first sight."

Elizabeth laughed. "No, actually they hated each other. He was an arrogant and crass American and mom was well, mom was a proper English Lady, with her own hot temper." A small sad smile came to her face as she remembered something. "I remember watching them argue passionately about the stupidest things, their fighting was never anything serious. Just sort of, teasing banter back and fourth."

Scorpius gave a smirk. "They sound like us."

"What no they-" she got a far away look before she realized that he was right, "hm, who'd have thought."

He kept the smirk on his face as he reached out and grabbed her hand.

She looked up to him and cocked her head to the side.

He leaned across the table and kissed her lips, he had been dying to do that since the curtains had covered the table.

Elizabeth returned the kiss before pulling away, color dusting her cheeks again.

Scorpius reached and pushed away some of the hair from her face before he leaned away and took to silently drinking his tea. "Will you tell me more?" He wanted to know, but if she wasn't comfortable, he wouldn't push it.

"More? About my family?"

He nodded. "You don't have to, I'm just curious. You can ask me anything you want as well."

"Well," she paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "My mother's name was Amaretta Howell and she was very talented at enchantments and runes. She was a part of the Association for the Ethical Care of Magical Creatures as was my aunt, Emily. It was at one of those conferences that my parents met." She ate another tart as she thought on the details. "My father's name was Daniel Snow, he was a leader in the association's American branch and was a talented animagus."

"An Animagus, which animal was he?" Scorpius looked at her interested in learning.

"A barn owl." She poured herself another cup of tea. "He chose the form because of an obsession he had with a movie from when he was a kid."

"That's those muggle things right?"

"Yes, it's a muggle thing." She mused. "Maybe one day I'll take you to a movie theater and you can experience what muggles can do."

"Well what was this movie about?" He leaned forward, looking at her with interest.

"It's about a girl who's father was remarried and the father had a baby with his new wife. She really hated her little brother, because that meant making changes to her life, like becoming more responsible. She liked to pretend she was a character of a book and act out scenes from it too, but having this little brother cut into that. One night her parents make her stay and babysit, regardless if she had any plans, and that makes her angry. So, with little brother crying and her angry, she recites a phrase from her favorite tale. _Goblin King, Goblin King, take this child of mine far away from me! _But of course this part of the phrase doesn't work even with the goblins listening in, she hasn't truly wished for it properly. Until his crying gets to her and she finally says, _I wish the goblins __**would **__take you away._ The lights go out momentarily and the crying stops." She watched him, amused by how on the edge of his seat he was with her retelling. "When the lights return, the baby is nowhere near. In a panic she searches for him, only to encounter the Goblin King. He looks nothing like the goblins you and I know, no, he's tall, handsome, and in every sentiment, human in his outward appearance." She watched him take a bite of chocolate chip biscuit, before deciding to cut him short. "Well long story short she goes on a journey to retrieve her little brother and realizes that it is time for her to grow up."

He frowned. "You sucked me in and cut me short, that's cruel."

"If I tell you the whole thing you'll never want to see it."

"I guess."

"I promise, we'll see it together."

"Really?"

"Really." She took one last sip. "I should head off before we're seen together." She stood up swiftly, and leaned over, kissing his lips. "Thank you for lunch."

"Y...you're welcome, Lioness..." He watched her leave and sighed as he leaned back in the chair. _I have to do something. We can't keep going on like this. _He rubbed his head. _I won't see her during break either. I haven't even found anything to give her for Christmas, nothing seemed right. _He stood up with a frown on his face. _Maybe at home I'll find something._ He let out a deep breath before returning to his cold demeanor as he stepped out of the shop. A big part of him wanted to run after her, grab her hand and walk around the town with her like a real proper date but now wasn't the time. The school wasn't ready for their relationship to be out in the open. With that thought and new information in mind, he headed back to the school.

Scorpius arrived at platform Nine and Three Quarters on the Hogwarts Express just after five o'clock. He stepped off the train along with other students eager to see their parents again. Stuffing his hand in his pockets and feeling his belongings nestled there, he made his way around the platform, dodging first years running to great their families. He shook his head at their excitement and leaned against a wall.

"There you are!"

He turned his head and was met with the sight of his mother. Astoria's long brown hair was pulled up in an elegant bun, her gray dress suit crinkling as she hurriedly moved towards him, practically skipping in her steps at the sight of her son. He walked towards her and met her half way. "Hello mother." He gave her a handsome smile and was rewarded with a tight hug which he returned. He placed his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes, savoring the embrace. He always loved his mother's hugs. He could remember a time when he barely reached her chest, but now that felt like ages ago.

"Come, your father is waiting. I can't wait to hear all about your time at school so far." She practically dragged him off, not even bothering to ask him about his suitcase, knowing full well that her son had likely shrunk them to a more portable size. He was always such a smart boy.

When they were reunited with his father, he was given the once over, meant to be intimidating. But it quickly melted to a warm smile as father reached to hug son. "You sent your reply so late, we were almost sure you wouldn't be joining us this year."

He gave a sheepish, nervous laugh as he was led away by his parents to the point where they would be able to safely travel back home. "I almost didn't, actually, but plans changed."

"Oh? Plans? Plans that didn't include us?" Astoria sounded a tad miffed.

He coughed. "W-well it's just," he hesitated.

"A girl I presume?" Draco Malfoy, aged but still handsome in his black suit, gave his son his famous arrogant smirk. The color that appeared on the pale teen's face had been enough to confirm it. "We'll talk about it at home." He said as he patted his shoulder.

Once home, Scorpius was allowed to go to his room and put away what he brought with him. His parents hadn't brought up the girl again, but he knew come dinner they would. He had to mentally prepare to break the news to them. He found a girl he actually liked and that was something big for him. Girlfriends in his past had been just a passing thing, something to practice with until he found the real thing, he had never been serious. Perhaps his cold personality at school had been at fault for those failures, but he never felt comfortable enough to be himself around a girl, until now.

At dinner, Scorpius nervously sat at his seat, his father at the head of the table, his mother across from him as they awaited for the house elves to serve dinner. He looked between them, regardless of what past people knew of his family, his parents together was nothing but the picture of much love and endurance, much stronger together then apart. He wondered if he would have that same sort of marriage with Elizabeth one day, one full of love and support no matter how hard times could be. He felt his face color at the thought. He watched his father reach to lovingly touch his mother's hand and smiled a little to himself. Yeah, that was what he wanted with Snow.

"So my son, tell us about the mystery girl." Draco said, a smirk on his features as he ripped his son out of his musings. A house elf came to bring them their meal silently as Draco kept all his attentions on him.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to coral his thoughts as he reached to drink from the glass of water set in front of him. When he recomposed himself, he looked at his father and noted the amusement on his face. "Her name is Elizabeth Snow, she's my partner in potions class this year."

"Oh? This is not the same girl we heard you got in trouble with is it?" Astoria asked as she cut the roaster meat on her plate.

Draco had kept a curious eye on his son.

"Yes, actually. But truthfully that was my fault. I took my teasing too far." He admitted as he recalled the incident.

"Scorpius, how many times must we tell you to compose yourself like a proper gentlemen. We didn't raise you bully others."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry mother." He sighed and took a bite of some of his meal, the house elves really outdid themselves with this one. "She looked terrible that day, I was concerned but I wasn't sure how to proceed."

"I see no reason as to why you would have a problem conveying emotions to a housemate."

He shifted again, discomfort even more evident. "She's not a housemate. She's a prefect from Gryffindor."

"Is that Professor pairing off students this year?"

"No, actually a student from Gryffindor fell ill this year and couldn't return. Likewise a student from my house had to move suddenly to another country due to family reasons. We were left with no choice."

"I see." Draco had fixed a blank look on his face. Snape, had he still been alive, would have never allowed that.

"I was angry at first but I grew very... font of her." He wouldn't tell them what he had done in retaliation, he knew his mother would not approve. "She's actually very smart. She's very talented at potions. So being partnered with her has only helped my grade."

There it was, the Slytherin ambition. Draco couldn't help but be proud that his son knew to take advantage of the arrangement, but he was also concerned. It was evident in how his son spoke of this girl that he was in love. "You said she's from the Snow family? I don't recall that name."

"Her father hails from the states, while her mother is a witch from wales." He was glad now that he had asked those questions of her before they left.

Astoria ate silently as she listened. "Where did her mother attend?"

"Hogwarts, she was a Gryffindor as well."

She looked thoughtful. "What is her name?"

"Amaretta Howell."

Draco and Astoria looked at each other before returning their gazes to their son. "Amaretta was in my graduating class along with her twin sister Emily. I remember them both well. They spent a lot of time with Ameris Quintell despite not being from the same house."

"The Howell family was also mostly neutral during the first and second wars." Draco pointed out. "They have been keepers of wizarding history since their inception." Draco looked intrigued then. His son pairing with that girl might not be as bad as he thought.

Astoria's gaze softened as she remembered Amaretta and Emily, although they never spoke much, they had both been very kind and knowledgeable, offering help to any who needed it regardless of what house they were in. "It's a shame what happened to Amaretta."

Draco looked at her before realization came to his face. "That was the one they found murdered wasn't it?"

She nodded. "Her and her husband." She tried not to remember the gruesome details of the report she read in the **Daily Prophet** about the incident. She shook her head. "And then Emily not three years later. That poor girl. I can't even imagine how horrible that must have been."

Scorpius looked down at the table. "Did they ever find out why it happened?"

"No. Amaretta's death was ruled as a muggle hate crime, they never found the one responsible. Emily's own death was ruled as a robbery gone wrong by the muggle authorities." She crossed her arms and leaned back a little in the chair, her mind wandering with itself. "It's likely that it was the same man. Almost like he had some sort of vendetta against the family."

Scorpius grit his teeth. If that man knew Elizabeth was still alive she could be in danger. Although his face was calm, worry was beginning to rise in his heart. "Father, how much do you know about the Howell family?"

"Not much I'm afraid. All I know is that they can be traced back to the foundation of Hogwarts through many different names. How they never were considered among the _**sacred twenty-eight**_ is beyond me."

"Can you help me find out more?"

Draco wasn't sure if this was ambition or just his son's desires to learn more about the girl, although he must admit that he too was curious. "I could check at the ministry, they should have records there on that family. I'll do my best to find out for you."

Scorpius smiled brightly at his father. "Thank you father, this means a lot to me."

Despite his weariness, Draco would not deny his son his wants, not like his own father had done. His father destroyed their family and Draco was determined to fix it no matter what it took.

Astoria patted his hand lovingly and returned to dinner as did he and Scorpius.

Scorpius had been nervous that they wouldn't approve his choice, but he was pleasantly surprised to find his fears unfounded. They hadn't protested or told him to end it. Knowing that he had their silent approval meant that he could now freely care less about his house mates thoughts. No, everything was in place now, all that was left was to find the perfect gift.

After dinner, Scorpius cornered his mother in the library. "Mother?"

"Yes dear?" She asked as she looked up from a book.

"I need help." He admitted with much sheepishness.

"Oh?" She motioned for him to sit at the table, which he did obediently before he spoke.

"I have yet to find anything to give Elizabeth for Christmas." He sighed. "I found a few trinkets which I managed to sneak into her bag before we left but nothing that really tells her what I feel."

Astoria smiled, happy that her son was in love like this, and happier still to know that her opinions and advice mattered to him still. "How much do you care for her my dear?"

"Mother, I considered staying at school if it meant I could see her everyday during break." He blushed with honesty. "There are times when I go out of my way to just get a glimpse of her." His face became pensive then. "I worried that you and father wouldn't approve of my choice in her simply because of her house." He looked sheepishly at her, only to receive a smile.

"My dear sweet boy, your father and I only wish for your happiness, and if this girl is it, then so be it. But know this, at the end of the year, we wish to meet this girl. It would only be right."

He nodded. "Of course mother." He smiled and reached across the table to take her hands. "Now will you please help me? This is the first time I am at a loss."

She laughed softly and squeezed his hand. "If you love her as strongly as you do and she returns the feelings, there is no greater gift than one from the heart." She stood up and turned to look at the books.

Scorpius sat silent, almost thinking that this would be her only advice.

After some time of silence she turned and looked back at him, a book in her hand. "Here, this will help. When I want to get something really special for your father and don't know what, this book always comes in handy." She handed it to him. "I'll leave you to it." She patted him on the shoulder.

He nodded his thanks and watched her leave before returning his attentions to the book. It was an old book, the red leather was soft and worn, the title was partially faded, but he could still make it out. _Enchantments and Charms for Sentimental Value. Wyllt. _"Wyllt... Merlin?" He opened the book carefully despite his excitement for fear of breaking it. The all of the pages, save one, were blank. On this page were directions.

To first select and item to bring about sentimental value, you must utter the name of the person that it is to be given to as if the name itself were a spell. Say this name three times while waving your wand around the pages of the book counter-clockwise, also three times.

Then you must say

_Drwy fy pŵer, ei gwneud hi mor_

_(By my power, make it so)_

_The pages of this book will then fill with possibilities and how to make or retrieve the item in question._

"So the whole book in enchanted." He looked at it with interest as he pulled his want out from his pocket, it had been miniturized to fit, he waved his hand over it to return it to its proper size. Clearing his thoughts her returned to the task at hand. "Elizabeth Snow, Elizabeth Snow, Elizabeth Snow." He waved his wand counter-clockwise as he said her name with great intention. "_Drwy fy pŵer, ei gwneud hi mor._" The book glowed. When the light died down, the book was filled with hundreds of possibilities. He paled. This was going to be harder then he thought.


	10. Chapter 9

-9-

Elizabeth sat with Ameris at the leaky cauldron, curiosity on her face. "Ame, you haven't told me where we're going yet."

"I know, that's because it's a surprise." The purplette said with a grin as she took a swig of butter beer.

"You told me that." She made a face as she drank from her own mug, the pathetic excuse for a burger in front of her.

"Just eat, we're waiting for someone to come and then we'll be off."

"It's not Dominic is it?"

Ameris blushed. "No, not Dominic." Dominic would meet with them for the holidays, but not today. No this was important and he would be a distraction.

A house elf who looked well off from most, made his appearance at the pub. He got odd looks as he found the pair. "Miss Ameris?"

She looked over at the elf and smiled. "I'm glad you could make it Onnory."

"Anything for house Howell and Quintell." His large eyes fell to Elizabeth, where they became practically the size of dinner plates. "Miss is looking much like her mother!" He collapsed to his knees in front of the startled Elizabeth and hugged her leg as he uttered apologies.

Elizabeth fought the urge to kick the enthusiastic house elf off her. She looked at Ameris for help.

"Onnory." She said firmly, yet kindly, understanding his affections for the girl.

He pulled away, still mumbling apologies under his breath.

"We're ready to go."

He nodded and pulled out an odd looking object, no doubt a port key.

"I thought we were flooing to the place."

"I did too but when I found it wasn't connected for security reasons, I contacted Onnory and he promised to take us via port key."

"Ok." She was weary as she stood, both she and Ameris reached out and touched the key. In a swirl of faces and places the three traveled through space magically until they reached their check point.

They were in what looked like a forest, but there was seemingly nothing there. At fist Elizabeth felt panic, her childhood came to mind as her eyes quickly scanned around her. She knew these trees, she knew this place.

"Bethie, it's fine." Ameris placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her frightened thoughts. "It's warded from intruders. Only a Howell can get passed them as well at those with permissions."

"Ameris, this, where is this?"

"Your family home. I was told to bring you here when you reached your sixteenth birthday. It's not for another month but... this is the only time I can bring you since school will be out for two weeks."

Elizabeth wasn't sure she liked this.

"This is your birthright, regardless of what happened on these grounds. Since It will pass effectively to you, you must put up new wards to strengthen the old and ensure nothing like that happens here again. Your mother would have wanted you to have this Bethie, honor them by taking your place."

She bit down on her bottom lip. Eleven years ago that man got close to her family, pretended to be a friend, but then- she shuddered. No. Ameris was right. No matter what had happened here, this was her home. She may be the last right now but there might come a time when she wouldn't be anymore. She nodded slowly.

"Onnory will start the tea." Onnory looked between them before he disappeared through the barrier, his part of the job done.

Ameris looked at her. "When you set up your wards you can remove permissions from the old ones and reinstate the ones that are needed as well as new ones." She turned her to her and stared at her for some time. "Bethie, no matter what, you have to remember, you're a Howell. And the Howell family, no matter the problems they faced, were always strong. You have that strength in you, you just have to believe in it." She squeezed her shoulders before pulling her into a tight hug. "No one will ever hurt you again." She whispered into her ear as she held her.

Elizabeth hadn't realized that she was shaking until Ameris had hugged her tightly. She could do this. She pulled away and nodded.

"I'll see you on the other side." Ameris squeezed her hand before moving past the barrier.

Elizabeth hesitated to follow. Now that she was alone she couldn't help the memories that were beginning to flood her. Running through this forest with her father chasing her, her mother giggling from up in a tree as she watched. "Remember the happy, forget the bad." She told herself as she took the first step in.

The moment she stepped in she could feel the magic caress her as it entered her core and welcomed her home. She could feel and see the magic of this place in the air, like hollowed ground, she knew this land was sacred. The magic glittered in the air in different shades of light. It would no doubt illuminate greatly come sun down. The castle over head as well as the rest of the maintained grounds called to her, this was home. No matter what happened here in the past, she knew this was the closest to being safe she would ever be outside of Hogwarts.

The castle itself was an elegant red brick, maintained well by the house elves that inhabited it. The grounds around it were filled with wild yellow and pink flowers, large old hazel, oak, elms, pines and willows of different species grew along it like a barrier of sorts, protecting the castle from view of enemies, as it rightly would have done in the past before invisible wards had been invented. Strawberry, rose and other berry bushes and shrubs grew beautifully on the estate. Some of the taller, larger shrubs were shaped into the Howell family animal, the tawny owl.

In the courtyard were lead statues of a man and woman she didn't know in the middle of the fountain, they were likely the founding members of their family. Elizabeth made her way closer as she looked up to the figures of the past. She remembered gazing up at them as a child and admiring them, how they held each other, their arms linked as they stood back to back yet also side by side, the man holding a staff outwards as if casting a spell, the woman holding her hands out in the other direction as if doing the same. It was the picture of team work and endurance that their family had striven for throughout the centuries. She looked down to the base and tried to make out the letters in vain. They were far too old and faded. She wondered who they had been, but right now it wasn't really important. All she knew is that one day, this sort of support in everything is what she wanted. She could almost imagine herself and Scorpius like that and felt her face color. They were still in the beginning stages of this relationship, no where near being like this, but one could dream, right?

Taking a breath Elizabeth moved away from them and explored the massive stone walkway of the courtyard. Ameris had long since gone ahead and into the castle, leaving her alone to remember and reacquaint herself with her old home. She had only been five the last time she had been there. It felt like so long ago. She walked up the stairway. At the top she turned around, away from the massive carved oak doors and looked out over the land. It was where it all started for her family. She breathed in deeply and turned back around to the doors. She pushed against them and entered.

A row of enchanted knight armors turned their heads to look at her before they bowed as deeply as they could without loosing their heads. She nodded to them before placing her attentions elsewhere. Her eyes scanned the room she was in. There were two large stair cases leading to the upper floors from the left and right sides, between them was an ornate round sculpture that held a mini garden as a focal point. It was filled with pretty flowers and herbs. There were doors along the walls, leading to different areas. She let her feet lead her towards where she vaguely remembered the kitchens to be. The smell of biscuits and other sweets being made filled her nose. She felt at ease with the smells of home. She saw Ameris there, sitting at the long marble counter, a tea set and a three tiered silver tray full of sweets were set out for the taking. She moved to sit on the stool beside her and started to pour her own cup.

"I hope being here is bringing nothing but good memories for you. They certainly do for me."

Elizabeth looked over at Ameris as she prepared her cup. She nodded. "It is, actually. I was afraid when we first got here, but seeing this place again," She sighed softly before a somber smile graced her features, "it really feels like they're still here."

"They are still here." Ameris said softly, She held the porcelain cup in her hands, letting it warm them as she turned her hazel eyes towards Elizabeth. She briefly pointed at her chest, just at her heart. "Here, always Bethie." She placed her hand over her own heart. "And here." She smiled. "As long as we live, they will too."

She felt at ease with those words as she finally took a sip. When she pulled away she looked up at her. "Do you think they'd be proud of me?"

She chuckled. "Are you kidding? I can practically hear Daniel now, preening with delight at knowing that his daughter has been doing so well for herself scholastically." She could imagine him grabbing up Elizabeth in his arms and squeezing her tight. "I remember when you first showed signs of being able to use magic, you were only two, and your father was just the biggest bundle of pride and nerves you'd ever see. It took your mother to calm him down even though she was pretty prideful about your development as well." She smiled at the memory.

_Ameris had arrived at the estate to visit her favorite people and god daughter, only to hear Daniel screaming hysterically with excitement and Amaretta yelling at him to keep it down. She ran down the hall way to the noises and burst through the door, only to see Daniel's form on the floor, his hands on top of his mess of dirty blonde hair in an attempt to protect it from Amaretta's attacks. Ameris was not surprised to see her best friend hitting her husband with a thick spell book. She couldn't help the laughter that escaped her at the sight. "What's all this noise about?"_

"_My husband is as overly enthusiastic as ever is all." She made her way to Ameris and hugged her. "I'm glad to see you."_

"_And I you." She smiled and gave a sympathetic look towards Daniel as he recovered. "But really what's all the noise about?"_

"_Elizabeth is showing early signs of magic use." Amaretta said simply._

"_How can you be so calm! That's amazing!" Daniel yelled, again, too excited._

"_Yes, I know that's amazing, but you don't have to go around yelling about it to the whole house." _

"_What exactly did she do?"_

"_She floated some of her toys to her from a shelf, now they're all over her crib."_

_Ameris laughed again. "That certainly is a feat for a child that young, not many exhibit such potential that early."_

"_See!"_

_Amaretta sent a glare his way. "Will you be quiet, she just fell asleep. I swear if you start yelling again I'm going to use a bigger book!"_

_He sank down and covered his head, whimpering like a kicked puppy._

She chuckled again. "Your mother loved hitting him with books when he got too out of hand. Said she was trying to literally beat some sense into him."

Elizabeth laughed as well, doing well to ignore the tears in her own eyes. "They really loved each other right Ame?"

"That they did Bethie, that they did. It was their joined hope that you would find that kind of love and devotion for yourself one day." She set the cup down and pushed the silver tray between them. "Go on, have a biscuit, Onnory made sure your favorites were made."

She smiled and quickly wiped at her eyes before reaching to eat some.

Elizabeth settled down in bed that night, the day had been long and filled with exploring the grounds. She had spent a lot of time in the owlery just west of the gardens and was surprised to find it not only full of tawny, barn and snow owls but, a single, solitary bald eagle roosting there among them almost as if he were one of them. The eagle had stared at her for some time before he had lowered his head, a sign of trust. She cocked her head to the side before realization dawned on her. "Ethon!" Her father's prized eagle companion was still here on these grounds, he had never left. She went toward him and slowly, cautiously held her hand out to his beak, allowing him to take in the scent of her.

Seemingly the eagle had recognized her and leaned forward, butting his head against her in affection.

"I can't believe you're still here." She nearly cried as she buried her face into his great soft feathers. Ethon may have grown old, but he was still a proud and strong eagle who was vastly intelligent and loyal to the Snow and by extension Howell family. Thanks to Elizabeth's strong resemblance to her mother he had recognized her right away as child of his master. Aside from the few things her father had brought over to the castle, Ethon was the only thing she had left of him. Overwhelmed by the joy of it, she had spent most of the afternoon with him crying with happiness that he had not left.

She smiled softly as she settled into the comfortable bed in the large room. The fireplace was lit and helped warm it in this long winter night. Ameris had told her that she would be going to meet up with Dominic and ultimately bring him to the estate so they could celebrate Christmas together like a real family. She couldn't help but cry now as she thought on it. Since the murder of her parents Elizabeth had not returned to these grounds until now, and having people there with her who cared about her meant so much more than anyone, not even Ameris, could imagine. She sniffled softly and laughed to herself. The day had been spent sobbing. She didn't want to spend the rest of the time here like that. Feeling that it was out of her system, she let her eyes trail around the room again.

The room was wallpapered in cream damask and had dark cherry wainscoting and crown moldings around the expanse of the walls and ceiling to match the wood flooring. The fireplace was the only piece made up of the same red brick of the castle exterior. There was a plush black velvet love seat that she could imagine herself laying on and reading for awhile, it looked comfortable enough to do so. There was a matching chair positioned near it, a long wood coffee table was in front of it, a good place to put a tray of tea and snacks on if she did say so herself. The matching antique vanity, dresser and wardrobe were all in mint condition, thanks to the wonderful care and maintenance done by the house elves. The bed she laid in was almost like the one she had at Hogwarts, only much larger. _Four people could easily fit themselves comfortably in this bed, _she mused. The four poster bed was made of sturdy cherry wood to match the other furniture and trimmings in the room. The bed hangings were a rich emerald green, they matched well with the heavy velvet curtains on the windows as well as the plush rug under the bed which was very soft under foot.

She shook her head and rolled over as she grabbed a hold of the pillow, snuggling herself into the softness. Her mind wandered to Scorpius. "I wonder... how he is." She sighed softly. She really was starting to miss him. It was one thing not seeing him often at school, it was another thing to not be able to see him at all. At least at school she knew where he was and that she could easily find him if she needed or wanted to. Here she did not have the same luxury. She idly wondered if he was having as much trouble. She buried her face in the pillow and sighed, probably not. She didn't know how wrong she was as she drifted off to sleep.

When the morning came, Elizabeth's nose was met with the wonderful smells of a home cooked English breakfast. She sat up to find the tray placed upon her table, the house elf that brought it was long gone. She stood up and shuffled to the table. She pulled the silver tray cover up and let the smells fully engulf her. The scent of bacon, fried eggs, a grilled tomato, sausages and toast with butter filled her nose and made her realize just how hungry she was. She replaced the tray and made her way to the master bath to brush her teeth and wash her face. Satisfied that she at least looked refreshed she returned to the bedroom and sat at the table with all intentions of devouring the meal. Opening the tray again she reached to the fresh strawberry marmalade and patted the buttered toast with it. She took a happy bite of it before practically destroying the rest.

Ameris had entered the room, full dressed and ready to leave. "Good morning Bethie."

"Good morning Ame!" She chirped from the table before taking a drink of the wonderfully rich and creamy breakfast tea.

"You're happy this morning." She noted as she went to her side and looked at the breakfast that was practically demolished.

"Great sleep and a wonderful breakfast." She said with a grin.

Ameris reached over and ruffled her already messy hair. "You sound more and more like your mom all the time. It's truly frightening."

She stuck her tongue out at her. "So you're getting ready to go then?"

"Mmhm. When we get back we'll go do something together. I shouldn't be gone long."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll probably spend the time exploring the inside this time."

"That should give you plenty of opportunity to find some good books on warding and potions in the family library." She paused, "I think you should try getting that ward up as soon as possible." Ameris had an underlying tone of concern in her voice.

She heard it loud and clear. "Understood." She nodded to her.

"Good. If you need help, just call for Onnory, I'm sure he'll pop up as soon as you call."

"Got it."

Ameris patted her head before leaving the room.

After breakfast Elizabeth dressed for the day in a black dress that came out in a bell shape at the waist. It was sleeveless and had a fat white sash around the middle just under the bust. She wore a pair of short black tights underneath that stopped just above her ankle and a pair of black flats. She put her hair up in a messy bun at the top of her head. After leaving the bedroom to explore she eventually found herself in the family library. It was filled floor to ceiling with books. Even after she stopped coming to the house, the house elf in charge of the library had continued to keep the library updated.

Said house elf was in the library when she entered. "Miss Elizabeth, I can help you?" She asked as she went to her.

"Ah yes, good morning." She smiled down at her. "I need books on advanced wards and any unusual books about potions. Can you direct me to them?"

Her eyes lit up, glad to be of use. "I will finds them Miss Elizabeth!" She disappeared with a pop.

Leaving Elizabeth to look around the library. _All the house elves here are much better dressed then most I've seen at Hogwarts. They must have really taken care of them well. _She stood up straight and looked around the library.

A tall wall just near the entrance way was full of moving pictures. One portrait of each member of the family was kept there when they reached a particular point in their life. There was a long portrait closer to the bottom that fit the whole wall, in it was a dining table, but no one was there yet. It seemed like a meeting ground for all the members of the family that had been immortalized with magic paint. While she watched the paintings the inhabitants finally realized that someone other than a house elf was in the library for a change. They scrambled to all move into the lowest portrait to get a good look at the red head standing in front of them.

She watched them with amusement as they pushed and shoved each other to get to where they wanted to go. Once they had all been gathered she bowed, the amusement had never left her face. She looked up at them with her bright green eyes and smiled. "Good morning."

She received a collective good morning before one of the much older members moved closer to get a better look. "And who are you child? We haven't had any human come to visit us in a long time."

"My name's Elizabeth Snow."

There was a gasp from two people as they pushed and shoved their way out to the front of the group.

Elizabeth's eyes widened the moment they came into full view.

The woman in front of her could very well have passed for Elizabeth's doppelganger with the exception of the streak of blonde, the shorter hair and paler skin. She looked like she wanted to cry just looking at the young woman standing in front of the painting. The man next to her was tan with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. They were Amaretta and Daniel Snow, her long since deceased parents.

"She's gotten so big! She looks just like you Retta!"

Amaretta straightened up. "Give us a turn, let us get a good look at you."

Elizabeth did as she was asked before turning back to face them. She reached to rub at her eyes. She had almost forgotten what they looked like.

"Hey, why are you crying for?" Daniel asked her softly.

She took in a shaky breath. "I forgot what you looked like." Her voice was trembling as she spoke.

A look of dread passed over their faces as they looked at each other and then back to her. "If we're not with you...what happened to us?"

"You were murdered." She managed to get out.

"And Emily? Where is she? Didn't she take you in?" Amaretta asked in concern.

"Yes. She did but... she died too."

The news of her sister's dead hit her hard. "H-how long?"

"The two of you died eleven years ago, Emily died eight... they ruled it a robbery gone wrong." Ameris and Elizabeth had never believed that. Elizabeth had come home from school to find the place wrecked, a magic fight had definitely happened there. She shook her head and rubbed at her eyes again.

Emily's portrait self came out from the crowd and looked over toward them, then to Elizabeth. "Is that...?"

They nodded to her in unison as they looked at the spitting image of Amaretta.

Emily looked between them and to the girl then back to them. "I take it something happened to the three of us?"

Again they nodded.

"Well damn." She frowned as she moved to the front to join her twin and her husband. The three gazed down at her. "What about Ameris, is she alright?"

"Oh, yeah she's fine. She took me in and I've been with her ever since."

The looked relieved.

"So little girl, tell us all about you." Daniel said with a smile, wanting to just forget the new information. It broke his heart to know his daughter had grown up without him.

Amaretta placed a hand on his, intent on hearing as well.

"Um well... I got accepted into Hogwarts a few years ago, made it into Gryffindor, I'm a sixth year and a prefect." She briefly noticed the others had started paying attention as well to their descendant.

"Nearly done then." Emily smiled down at her. "What are you planning on doing after school?"

She nodded. "I want to be a potions master like Ameris."

"It sounds like you know exactly what you want to do with your life, we're really proud." Amaretta said with a smile.

"Proud! Proud! We're damn excited for her!" Daniel nearly yelled. His hands were balled into fists and there was a fire in his eyes. "This is our daughter we're talking about. We better damn well be excited and proud of her!" He got hit with a thick book before he could keep rambling on. He rubbed at his head and tried not to whimper too audibly. "That's cold Amaretta."

Elizabeth tried not to laugh as she watched her mother dust off her book. Emily had not been able to hold it in, and was soon joined by some of the less conservative members of the family.

"So, do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? Doesn't matter to us, we'll love you either way." Amaretta asked calmly, breaking through the sound of laughter.

Elizabeth's face went pink and she turned her gaze away. "Well..."

"Are they cute?" Emily asked, excited for gossip that didn't pertain to the certain dooms of her sister and herself.

"He's," She paused as she thought on him, "he's more than cute Aunt Emily. His name is Scorpius and he's a prefect for Slytherin house."

"Now why does that name sound familiar...?"

"He's a Malfoy mommy."

"A Malfoy." Amaretta looked thoughtful for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh! Astoria and Draco's son?"

"You know them?" Elizabeth asked as the library house elf appeared with the books she had asked for.

"I brought books you asked for Miss." She placed the books down on the floor before she disappeared again, only to return with a chair that she immediately offered to the young mistress.

Elizabeth gave her a genuine smile as she sat down. "Thank you."

The house elf beamed at being thanked directly, bowed and disappeared with a pop again.

"We were in the same graduating class with Astoria." Emily said.

"Really? Is she as pretty as I heard she is? I've never seen her personally." Elizabeth asked as she picked up the books from the floor and started flipping through them idly.

"She always had a certain charm about her." Amaretta answered as she leaned back against the table, staring down at her daughter.

Daniel was grumbling, his arms crossed. "She's too young for a boyfriend."

"Daniel really?" Emily gave him an exasperated look.

"Really! She's only what fifteen, sixteen right now?" He was pouting. "I don't want my little girl doing adult things with some boy I'll never meet."

Elizabeth's face went completely red. "D...Daddy."

"Dan seriously, there's nothing we can do to stop her except tell her to be careful." Amaretta said, refraining from hitting him with the book again.

He started gesturing wildly with his arms. "Be careful? Retta accidents happen no matter how careful you are. I was a young boy once, hormones can some times cloud a guy's judgment. I'm not trusting him until she drags him here." He hmphed and crossed his arms, his face set in a permanent pout.

She blinked at him. "But... dad we're not even anything official yet. I don't even know if he told his parents. It's not like we can be open about anything at school."

"Why the hell not? If he likes you he shouldn't be so shady. See I don't like him already!"

"It's not that. It's just our houses they're not really forgiving when it comes to things like that."

"Right, the Slytherin Gryffindor feud. I can't believe that's still going on after all this time." Emily sighed.

"I'm not surprised, Gryffindors have always been hard headed in matters like that. But the war has been over for a long time now. They should at least work to become more united."

"They don't really care if you're friends with one, it's just anything beyond that is taboo." Elizabeth answered and frowned at the sight of her pouting father. "Dad you have to understand, my house likes to pull pranks on people, horrible pranks. The first week when they thought we actually were dating they said the most horrendous stuff about me and about him."

He frowned and started rolling up his sleeves. "I want to sick Ethon on them."

How it moved from him already not liking Scorpius, to him ready to take on all the Gryffindors with an Eagle was beyond Elizabeth. She wondered briefly if he had really been like that in life. The way her mother rolled her eyes confirmed it.

"Daniel, you're a painting, I doubt Ethon would even listen to you."

He slumped in defeat.

Amaretta turned her attention back to Elizabeth. "Do you care for him?"

She blushed a bit and closed one of the books, settling it on her lap. "I think I do. There are times when I think of nothing else but of him. I mean, he was a complete and total pain in the beginning but... even then I thought a lot about him."

Amaretta gave her daughter a knowing look. "Men can be quite insufferable."

"Hey I'm right here."

"I know you are dear."

He puffed out his cheeks and went back to sulking.

Ameris entered the library, Dominic following behind her. "There you are Bethie!"

The three in the portrait turned their attentions to the purple haired woman that entered the room. "Ameris is that you?" Emily gawked at the sight of her.

Ameris had of course changed quite a bit since they had last seen her. When she was younger she was much thinner, her hair had been shorter and her bust had not been so prevalent. She had most certainly surpassed the twins in measurements. She looked over at them and smiled. "Hello! I see you've become acquainted with my protege."

Dominic stood there awkwardly, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he gazed up at the portraits. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans, sneakers and a red flannel button up shirt under the gray wool jacket. His long hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. He looked around the place with his golden eyes. He had known that the place Ameris was bringing him was big, but he didn't expect it to be a damn castle. Just what in Merlin's hat was this family hiding?

"We're glad to see that you're taking such good care of her." Amaretta said softly, there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

Ameris caught it, but made not mention of it. "She's been in good hands Amaretta. She's devilishly smart too, with more training she could give you a run for your money."

"And the wand-less magic?"

"She's gone far beyond that. I've seen her even do it wordlessly."

Elizabeth was blushing, she knew she wasn't supposed to do any of that at school, but there were times when she slipped up.

"She excels in nearly everything she does. I'm very proud of her." Ameris patted her shoulder.

They collectively nodded in satisfaction.

A devilish smirk came to Daniel's face having noticed Dominic. "Is that your boyfriend Ameris?"

Their faces went red and Elizabeth was glad that they were off the subject of her.

"Um well... This is Dominic Leons, he's the professor for muggle studies at Hogwarts." She turned to Dominic. "Dominic this is Daniel and Amaretta Snow and her twin sister Emily Howell."

He cleared his throat and bowed to them. "Nice to meet you."

"Pfft, you're lucky we're just paintings dude. We'd be all over you right now."

Emily was giggling. "Pay not attention to Daniel, we've always been protective of our own."

"I can see that." Dominic forced a smile, feeling awkward at the appraising gaze he was getting from Amaretta.

"I approve Ameris. Now what are you plans? I suspect this is Christmas holidays for the three of you?" Amaretta asked, keeping her emerald orbs on her.

"We were just about to take Elizabeth out for Christmas tree shopping."

It was evident the three felt very jealous.

"Then we're going to do some shopping, come back here and decorate the tree. You're welcome to watch us when we return. I vaguely remember there was an empty portrait installed over the fire place in the gathering hall."

Amaretta nodded. "We would love to join you."

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll see the three of you later." Ameris smiled and turned to leave, dragging Dominic out of the room with her.

Elizabeth stood up and looked up at them. "I'll see you later. I love you guys." She felt her throat clench as she spoke those words. She shook her head and turned to leave.

"We love you too." She heard them say as she closed the door.


	11. Chapter 10

-10-

They stood in the tree lot and stared at the different trees available. They had everything from Spruce, Fir and Pine and the smells were absolutely wonderful. Elizabeth giggled like a child as she bolted away from the two of them to look at all the trees.

Ameris shook her head. "Such a child."

"Let her have her fun Ameris. Seeing her parents and aunt must have been a lot on her."

"You're right." She nodded and walked around the lot with him, hand in hand. "Let's get some hot chocolate."

He nodded in agreement and led her to the stand.

As they conversed and ordered their hot chocolate, Elizabeth roamed row after row of trees, searching for the one that called out to her most. She saw one at the edge of the lot and trudged through the snow and mass of people searching for trees to get to it. When she got closer she slipped on ice and knocked into someone.

The man grabbed her as she fell. "Are you alright?" He asked in a gruff voice, miffed that he was bumped into.

"Yes, thank you." She said as she stood up and dusted off the red wool cloak she was wearing. She turned to face him.

He was a tall man, well built with a dark tan complexion. His black hair was slicked back a streak of gray ran through the left side. He looked down at the young woman with coal black eyes as he dusted his own jacket off. He gave her the once over. "Be more careful next time."

As she looked at him she couldn't help the twist she felt in the pit of her stomach. He was quite handsome. He looked like he was at least ten years older than her. "Yes, again, thank you and I'm sorry. I got excited."

He looked up at the tree. "It is a really nice looking tree." He looked at the girl again and offered her a smile. "I can help you take it home."

Red flags started to flare up and she shook her head. "No thank you, I should be fine."

He nodded, slightly disappointed. "My name is Morgan Ellis... by the way."

Dominic came then, holding an extra cup of hot chocolate. "There you are. We were looking for you." He held the cup out to her.

"Oh thanks Dominic." She turned her gaze and looked around her. "Hm." The man was gone. _I didn't imagine all that did I? _She shook her head and turned back to Dominic with a smile.

"So, is this the one?"

"I think so. It would look really nice in the great room."

Ameris walked up towards them with one of the lot workers. "Elizabeth, is this it?"

She nodded. "Mmhm! I really like this one."

Ameris turned to the young man. "We'll take this one, how much?"

"Twenty-three pound miss."

"Four galleons, twelves sickles and one knut," she mumbled to herself as she reached into her bag to pay him. She turned towards the other two. "C'mon let's get this taken home now."

Between the three of them, they managed to take the eight foot tall spruce down the street and into an alleyway. Once covered by the darkness Ameris called out for Onnory. There was a pop as the house elf appeared.

"Yes Miss Ameris? What can Onnory help you with?"

"Can you please take this home and set it up in the great room? We'll decorate it when we return."

"Yes Miss." He smiled and looked back to the tree. He snapped his fingers and both he and the tree were gone.

Ameris turned to the other two and smiled. "Well who's ready to go shopping!" She latched onto Dominic's arm and squeezed it against her chest, causing his face to go completely red.

Elizabeth laughed at her enthusiasm and followed the two off to the shopping district where they then disappeared into the wall of a nearby pub. Swyno Place was like and unlike Diagon Alley. The shops were a mix of old and new. The main street was wide and the two way street was lined with fresh black asphalt that glittered with magic to keep it pristine and free of snow. Witches, Wizards and surprisingly some muggles walked the strip in pairs, some in groups, conversing and chatting away merrily. The shops were all decorated tastefully with fairy lights and Christmas swag. Each lamp post on the side walk had large red bows on them and were connected by fresh ropes made of pine and cranberries. The smells wafting in the air were absolutely wonderful.

"Why don't you go explore Bethie, we'll meet at Ichabod's Tavern, say around three?" Ameris asked as she still held on to Dominic's arm.

She nodded. "Sure thing Ame." She watched the two go in amusement before she headed off. She had gotten a few things for them while she was at Hogsmeade, but nothing had pulled her attention to it for Scorpius. She hoped she'd have some luck at the shops here. Elizabeth let her eyes trail around the place in hopes that something would catch her eye.

With a sigh, she entered **Prichard's**_, _a modern emporium and outfitter of wizarding goods. It was bright inside and used modern electric lights as opposed to the standard gas lighting they were still using at Diagon Alley. Music was being played from inside the walls, it was pleasant, the type of music that made a person want to shop. Her eyes landed on the sight of various grades of cauldrons in different metals and colors. Some were displayed at the window with enchanted mannequins that showcased the style of robes they had to offer. The mannequins were pretending to make a brew to show how the robes moved with the body and allowed a witch or wizard to be able to move easily while wearing them. She couldn't help the chuckle when one of the mannequins bumped into the other and sparked what looked like a fight.

A mousy looking witch came up to her. She was wearing a robe that went from black at the bottom to a deep shade of blue towards the top, her hair was pulled into a french twist and had what looked like a wand running through the middle in it. She sent an angry look in the direction of the two quarreling mannequins, stopping them from fighting. She gave her a smile. "Hello dear! Welcome to Prichard's. How may I assist you today?"

She turned her attention to her, a thoughtful look came to her face. "I'm looking for something for someone special." There was a light dusting on her cheeks as she spoke.

"Ah well we have many items to choose from." She began to take her on a tour of the store. "As you can see we have cauldrons of all different types, potions ingredients, robes for every day, robes for special occasions, our own selection of high quality brooms and many, many other items. It is our policy here that if you don't find what you're looking for in our stores we can either direct you to where you can find it or special order the item for you."

Elizabeth had slightly tuned her out as they walked when she suddenly stopped, something had caught her eye. A smile came to her face as she went to it. In the display were several different wand accessories, but only one spoke to her the most. It was a beautiful, rich black leather wand holster. There was a lion stitched onto it with a brilliant red gem for an eye, the inside was red tinted suede. "Can I take a look at this one?"

The witch had still been walking when she heard Elizabeth speak. She hadn't realized that her tour had been interrupted. She had been far too busy enjoying the sound of her own voice. She quickly went to her side and unlocked the case. "This is a very nice piece." She carefully removed the holster from inside and handed it to her. "It was hand crafted using _**Hebridean Black **_leather so it's fairly durable but the leather is enchanted so it will never fade or tear from over use. It's definitely a useful item that can be handed down generation to generation."

She ran her fingers along the leather gently, she could feel the subtle ridges from the hide and the stitching. "I'll take it." Elizabeth said before the sales witch could say another word about it. She didn't care about the cost, she thought it was wonderful.

"Wonderful! Would you like this wrapped?"

"Yes please."

"While I wrap this please, take a look around." She smiled and left Elizabeth to her own devices.

Elizabeth decided to look around the store, although she had a feeling that nothing else would catch her eye here. Eventually she went to the display counter that the other witch was working at.

"Will that be all miss?" She asked with a sugary sweet smile.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"That will be nineteen galleons, twelve sickles and twenty-seven knuts."

Elizabeth had been mentally prepared to pay the price as she reached into her bag and removed the purse where she kept her gold. Was she ever so glad that she and Ameris had made that stop at Gringotts before they left.

When she paid, the witch handed her the bag with a smile. "We look forward to doing business with you again."

Elizabeth took the bag, nodded and left the store. Although she paid a pretty penny, she knew it was worth it. She could only hope that Scorpius would like it. She went off to explore the other shops, surprised to find some muggle shops littered here too, she'd have to ask Ameris about that. She found a branch of Twilfitt and Tatting's in between a muggle electronics shop and ice cream shop. She couldn't help but be amused by the placement.

By three o'clock, Elizabeth had happily finished her shopping and was just entering Ichabod's. She gave a look around the place. Despite it's reputation as a pub, it was a beautiful location, the walls were painted a cream color to offset the darkness of the woods in the place. There were floating candles on the tables and at the booths. It was also pretty crowded. There were wizards showing off to their muggle companions and laughter was abundant in the air. It warmed her to see just harmony in one place. She wondered why it couldn't be like this all the time.

She smiled as she tried to see if there was an empty seat or if she could spot Ameris and Dominic. She sighed when it looked like they weren't around. _Ugh... did they get caught up?_ She found an empty booth and slid in, setting her bags on the seat as she grabbed the nearby menu. _Might as well order while I'm waiting. _She couldn't deny that the delicious smells of steaks, bacon and pork being cooked in the air were making her feel as though she hadn't eaten at all that morning. She had been so caught up in shopping that she hadn't bothered stopping for lunch or at least a snack.

Ameris and Dominic came in and found her easily just after she had placed her order. Ameris was smiling ear to ear as poor Dominic carried the bags.

"Whoa, what all did you buy?"

"I got a little carried away at a specialty shop." She said with a sheepish look.

Dominic was mumbling something incoherent that neither girl heard as he finally had a chance to set the bags down. He waved his wand and miniaturized all but one bag. He picked up all the little ones and put them in the bigger bag, a look of relief on his face.

Elizabeth only shook her head. "Sure, a little." She said as the waiter returned with Pumpkin fizz. She nodded to him as the waiter turned to the other two.

"Butterbeer for me." Ameris said without looking at him.

"Strongbow for me mate, thanks."

He nodded and left to fill their drink orders. When he returned with the drinks they ordered.

"So what did you guys get?"

"Well I came across a specialty potions shop and bought a new cauldron and bushels of different ingredients."

"When she says bushels she means it." Dominic said with a slightly amused smile on his face.

"I believe you." Elizabeth was glad she hadn't been dragged around by Ameris. She wasn't that bad to shop with, but when she found something that absolutely sparked her interests there was no stopping her. Ameris had told her countless times that her own mother had been the same way, she believed it.

"I didn't see you holding much restraint in that muggle shop." Ameris teased.

He coughed. "A lot of the items in there will be useful to show to my students."

"Is that stereo going to be useful? It's not like there's electricity at Hogwarts."

He huffed at her. Yes, he knew it wouldn't work well enough to pick up signal, or turn on for that matter, but he still felt it was worth a buy. "I can still show it to them."

"Yes, show them a muggle device that can't possibly work without electricity, that's sure to excite them Dominic."

He frowned at her.

Elizabeth sighed. "Dominic, can you work it with batteries?"

"Batteries?" He hadn't thought to look, having been too excited.

"Yes, I've seen that some muggle devices that are battery run work well regardless if there's magic around. They work on a much lower level of frequency then the ones that use electricity."

He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cube, he tapped it and it grew into a box, a large one that had the things he purchased in them.

Elizabeth blanched at the sight, here he had blatantly complained about Ameris and her shopping, but it looked like he had bought the whole electronics store.

He found the box containing the stereo and pulled it out of the other box. He started to read the back, scanning it quickly. "Runs on both AC/DC and four D batteries." His eyes lit up then, a huge grin spread across his face as a deep chuckle resounded.

Ameris shivered at the sound of it, it had reminded her a little bit of Alphonse. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down."

Dominic went a little red faced and returned it to the box. He then proceeded to shrink the contents, returning it to his pocket.

Their orders came shortly after and they enjoyed a nice lunch. Elizabeth looked very happy to see the steak burger on her plate. It was topped with what looked like a very saucy pulled pork, tomatoes and lettuce, an order of chips and a honey chipotle sauce completed the plate. This certainly made up for the poor excuse for a burger she had at the leaky yesterday. Elizabeth was not doing well to hide the excitement.

Ameris chuckled. "You and your burgers Bethie."

"But burgers are delicious when prepared right!"

"You sound like your father."

Elizabeth only smiled. She had a lot of her mother's habits so hearing that she had something that sounded at least something like her father made her feel warm inside.

Dominic hadn't wasted time on tearing into his own steak, it had a pineapple ring on top and inside was a delicious peppered fried egg. He picked up some of the chips and dipped them into the still soft gooey yolk.

Ameris shook her head as she dug into her own meal of Yorkshire sausage and mashed potatoes.

After their late lunch the trio took their leave and returned to the estate where the smell of fresh pine tree filled the air paired with the scent of a roast being cooked in the kitchens for tonight's dinner. They spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the tree while Dominic took pictures. With the decorating done and pictures taken, Dominic headed off to start getting them developed as the girls worked on cleaning up the mess.

When he was gone, Ameris looked over to Elizabeth. "Did you manage to find something for Scorpius?"

She blushed a bit. "Yes. I found a wand holster made of hebridean leather." She smiled a bit as she stuffed the decoration containers into the bigger box to make life just a little bit easier for the house elves.

"Sounds nice. Where did you get it from?"

"Prichard's. They had a lot of nice stuff but that shop was way too big for my tastes though."

Ameris nodded. "Some times you can get something really good in there." She closed up one of the boxes and looked over at her. "I think... you should send your gift with some of the pictures."

"The ones we just took?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Dominic will make doubles any way."

Elizabeth looked thoughtful. "I guess I could do that." She looked over at Ameris and grinned. "Did you find anything for Dominic?"

The purplette colored a little. "While he was in the muggle store I snuck off to do my own shopping for him. I went to Garnet's while he spent a whole hour in that place. Luckily he didn't notice I was gone."

"Garnet's is that jewelry shop isn't it?"

"Yes." She leaned closer towards her and reached into the pocket of the white dress she was wearing. She pulled out a velvet box. She opened it and showed her the heart shaped red stone that seemed to give off a pleasant aura, it was set in white gold with white roses hugging the oddly shaped stone.

"It's beautiful. What kind of stone is this Ameris?"

"It's made from fossilized dragon bone. It's enchanted so the wearer will be able to feel the giver's feelings. Oddly enough the shop keeper told me it was a twin to another piece that someone had bought earlier today."

"Hm, that is odd."

Ameris heard Dominic starting to come back and quickly stuffed the box back into her pocket.

After they enjoyed a lovely roasted duck with a cranberry and orange marmalade dressing that was stuffed with roasted vegetables, Elizabeth excused herself and left the two alone. She went up to her room. She found some paper and sat down with a quill and ink and thought about what to say. She sighed in frustration, none of the words were coming out right for her. She rubbed her head and turned her attention to her bag. She pushed herself away from the table and went for the bag. Rooting through it, she found what she had bought inside it, and some thing else she had not expected to find.

She set the wrapped parcel on the table and sat back in the chair, where she opened the decorative bag. Inside it was a letter, it was on top of a long box of sweets from Honeydukes, but it felt like something else was under it. Curious she pulled the box out and found a smaller velvet box underneath. She felt her heart skip a beat as she set it down and opened up the letter. She began to read.

_My dear Elizabeth,_

_I hope you're enjoying the break. Know now that I am already missing you terribly and although I am glad for the time out of school I cannot wait for the break to be over so that I will be able to see you again. I hope you enjoy the chocolates from Honeydukes and the other gift, but know now that it will not be the only thing you will receive for Yule as I believe they cannot relay just how much I love you. Yes, I said I love you. I plan on telling my parents about us during break. I hope strongly for their approval, but regardless of it, I will not leave your side. _

_Although I know we have not been together for long I know my heart resides with yours. Nothing, not our houses nor our positions in the world will change this. If I have to give up my name and take yours I will do it if it means us being together. No matter how far apart we are physically my heart will always be with you._

_Truly Yours,_

_Scorpius_

She felt her breath hitch, her face was heated, likely red from the love confession. She fanned her face and set the letter down after reading it once, then twice. Elizabeth reached to the box and opened it. In it was a pair of pearl earrings that was set in small white gold wings encrusted with rubies on it, a smaller pearl dangled from the setting. She put them on immediately and went to the mirror to look at herself. _I can't believe he got me something like this. They must have been really costly. They're so beautiful. _She sighed happily before returning to the table. She knew now what she had to write.

All was normal at the Malfoy manor on this bright and sunny winter morning. The family of three were seated together eating breakfast when a large bird flew in through the open window, arriving with the post. It landed gracefully on the table and cocked its head to the side as it peered at the three, amusement twinkling in its eyes at the reaction it got. All three Malfoys were staring at the bald eagle standing on their table with gaping mouths. Astoria had nearly fainted the moment he lifted his left talon to reveal a package that had been carefully strapped to it. It sqwaked at Scorpius who nervously reached over and untied the bundle. He set it on the table. Seeing it was from Elizabeth, a smile came to his face. He turned towards the eagle and offered the glorious symbol of American freedom some of his breakfast sausage as a reward.

The bird happily accepted the treat and moved to sit at the table next to him as if he were always a member of the family.

"Who is it from dear?" Astoria asked once her wits returned to her. She was fanning Draco's ghostly pale face in an attempt to snap him out of his stupor.

"It's from Elizabeth." He opened the note that had been attached to the bundle.

_Scorpius,_

_I am so, so sorry for the appearance of Ethon. He was ungodly eager when I entered the owlery to send this package to you. He wouldn't even let me get past him to get to an owl! I had no choice but to indulge him. I guess I can't blame him though. He hasn't been out since my father died. Please take good care of him while he's with you. _

_Yours,_

_Elizabeth_

"She apologizes for Ethon. Apparently the eagle was eager to spread his wings and wouldn't let her send the package with one of the owls at the place she's staying at."

Draco shook his head furiously and cleared his throat. "So this Elizabeth... has an... eagle."

Scorpius scanned the note. "He belonged to her father." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"He must be very import to her then." Astoria said softly before calling a house elf.

The elf appeared with a pop and noticed the eagle, immediately the house elf looked terrified that he would be fed to the eagle before he turned to her. "Y-Yes misses?"

"Fetch us some more meat for our avian guest."

"Y-yes misses." The elf disappeared with a pop only to return mere moments later carrying a plate. He set it on the table. "Is that all misses?"

"Yes that's all, thank you."

With a sigh of relief the house elf disappeared again.

Scorpius reached for the plate and placed it in front of Ethon. His reward for offering him the meal was Ethon's head. Slowly he reached and touch the head of the eagle. He let his hand touch the white feathers gently. A smile came to his face when the eagle gave an appreciative chortle and went on to devour the food.

Draco and Astoria just watched the eagle, partly amused, but mostly terrified. Neither had ever encounter a bird that large and having him this close to them and mostly to their son nearly had them close to having a heart attack, but Scorpius was seemingly calm as he ate his breakfast with the eagle as if he were a strange yet welcomed companion beside him.


	12. Chapter 11

-11-

No matter where Scorpius went, the eagle followed him obediently on foot, exploring the new surroundings. The house elves steered clear of them, afraid the eagle would eat them, which amused both Scorpius and Ethon. When Scorpius got to his room he placed the package down on the table and looked over towards the eagle. He offered him a place to perch.

Ethon shook out his feathers before opening his wings and taking to the air, where he perched up on one of the four posters of his bed.

Scorpius could only smile as he went for the package. He ripped through the brown paper and opened the box to find a letter inside as well as a wrapped present. He went for the letter first and read.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_I miss you too. Thank you so much for the earrings. They're absolutely beautiful. I'll wear them everyday. The chocolates are also very delicious. I'm surprised you knew which kind were my favorite. I'm happy that you love me and I love you too. But please don't do anything rash. I don't want you giving up your family just to be with me. They're you blood whereas I'm not. I'm sure we'll find a way eventually._

_I hate to admit it, but I'm having a bit of a hard time knowing we're so far apart from each other right now. I miss your face, your laugh and your voice, even that cocky smirk of yours. Before break is over, maybe we can meet up? There's a pub at Swyno Place known as Ichabod's that has really good food. I'd love to go there with you sometime, that is if you could make the trip._

_Always,_

_Elizabeth_

Even though Christmas was a day away, he couldn't stop himself from opening her present to him now. He ripped up the wrapping paper and opened the box. His eyes widened at the sight of the wand holster. The strong smell of dragon leather was intoxicating. He ran his fingers along the holster, tilted it this way and that way and admired how the light caught on the eye. _A lion from my lioness,_ He chuckled. He wasted no time in putting it on and removing his wand from his pocket. He put his wand inside and adjusted the holster. He stood and looked at himself. He admired the fit of it on him before he returned to the bed to look at the card in the box.

_**Hebridean Black Leather Wand Holster by Prichard's**_

_This piece has been hand crafted especially for you._

_At Prichard's we strive only for the most quality in our goods._

_The item you see before you has been enchanted to not only increase the already durable Hebridean Black Dragon leather but also to ensure that your new holster remains looking like new for many generations to come._

He smiled to himself. Elizabeth had really thought about him. And although he loved the gift, he knew that deep down she could have given him anything and he would have still cherished it forever. He noticed something moving in the box then and looked in it to see the pictures she included. He picked them up and started to look at them. In one of the pictures she was sitting in front of a beautifully decorated twinkling Christmas tree in a room that had a fireplace in it. She was smiling as she tucked a bit of her hair back behind her ear. She looked beautiful. With the smile still on his face, he sat down and went to writing, the picture now on his desk.

Elizabeth woke Christmas morning with a yawn as she rose out of the bed she knew she would be missing once she returned to Hogwarts. She slipped the fuzzy pink slippers on and pulled on her robe before pulling back the curtains in the room. She opened up the balcony doors and stepped out. She immediately regretted this. She shuffled back into the room quickly, shivering as she forced the doors closed again. _That was stupid of me, but at least I'm awake now. I wonder if Ethon made it to the Malfoy house?_ It had been at least two days since she last saw him and she worried that Ethon might have gotten too excited and took a detour. She shook her head.

She left the room and headed to the great room. When she got there, she found a whole stack of presents waiting. Seeing them brought a smile to her face. It told her that no matter what had happened in the past, she would always have moments like these to remind her that she was loved. Instead of going after the presents like any normal kid would have, she opted to go to the kitchens where she saw the elves exchanging their own gifts to each other.

"Merry Christmas." They stopped when she came in with every intention of waiting on her hand and foot, but she shook her head. "Please don't mind me, I just came in here for some tea. I can make it myself. You enjoy yourselves." She went to the cabinets to get the kettle and pour some water in to make a nice cuppa. The elves looked at her curiously before smiling and returning to their exchanges and hugs. Elizabeth couldn't help but watch them as she waited for the water to boil.

After preparing her cup she headed back to the great room and sat on the couch in front of the tree. She brought her knees up and waved a hand toward the fireplace. The fire rose to life instantly. The crackling of the wood and the warmth of the fire paired with the cup of hot English Breakfast tea in her hands left Elizabeth feeling at ease. She closed her eyes and let herself get lost.

Ameris and Dominic had entered the room and yawned loudly. "Merry Christmas Bethie." Ameris said sleepily as she went to her side and hugged her before plopping down beside her. "I'm surprised you're not opening every single present with your name on it."

"What am I four?" She stuck her tongue out at her.

Dominic laughed a bit. "Don't worry Ameris, you'll get to see some excited kid opening Christmas presents one day."

"Oh? Is that going to be a promise Dominic?" She asked teasingly.

He shivered as his face colored. He cleared his throat as he turned towards the tree and rooted around, separating the presents. He stacked them up into their respective piles and slid one pile towards Elizabeth and the other towards Ameris.

Elizabeth set down the cup and soon the three were opening their presents, modestly at first, but then childish habits kicked in and they were all ripping paper up madly. Elizabeth thanked Ameris for the new copper cauldron which was filled with some of her favorite candies and some potion bottles for her to use for brewing. She also thanked Dominic for the knitting supplies and book for beginning knitters. She had mentioned to him once in passing that she had wanted to learn, she didn't know that he had been paying that much attention.

Ameris chuckled and thanked Elizabeth for the new bronze scale set, her current one was getting faulty in it's years. Elizabeth had also gotten her muggle measuring tools, a set of dark purple measuring cups and spoons. She would be able to use these to accurately measure the amount of ingredients going into her potions without having to second or even triple guess herself. Even a master in the field could have their doubts. Dominic had bought her a new silk robe that greatly resembled a kimono, it was purple with an orchid design to it on the bottom edge, the sash was a deep green to match her house.

Dominic thanked Elizabeth for the muggle physics text book. He full on laughed when he opened the present from Ameris. It was a bottle of wine. It was called _Fangria, _a vampire themed wine. "I'll be sure to enjoy this Ameris."

She laughed a little. "I thought you'd get a kick out of that."

"You... got him vampire themed wine? Isn't that a little ironic?"

Dominic looked at Elizabeth then to Ameris. "She knows?"

"I didn't tell her."

"I figured it out after the lesson we had on making Sanguine wine..." She wouldn't mention what Scorpius had done to help her recognize the signs.

"Should have known you would." Ameris said softly.

Elizabeth took a sip of her tea and nudged Ameris, knowing she still had something for Dominic.

She coughed and reached in her pocket. "Hey Dominic... it looks like Santa left you something else." She pulled the box out of her pocket and went to him. She sat in front of him and held out the box to him, blushing softly.

Dominic blinked in surprise and looked down at the box before laughing a little. He reached into his own pajama pocket and pulled out an identical box. "Santa left you something extra too."

Elizabeth pretended to flip through the beginner knitters book, but watched the exchange from the corner of her eye, amused.

They exchanged boxes and opened them simultaneously. They both burst into laughter. "You were the one who bought the twin!" Ameris was nearly hysterical with laughter at the strangeness of the coincidence.

Dominic put his own on and reached over to help Ameris put on hers. "We're more connected then I thought we were." He smiled handsomely at her, his golden eyes sparkling in the light of the fireplace.

"Y...yes." She blushed quite visibly.

He leaned in and kissed her softly. Both stones glowed softly at the contact.

Snow had started to fall some time past noon and the three had decided to play in it. What started as the three building snowmen together went to the three attacking each other with snowballs. The girls eventually teamed up against Dominic and pummeled him with an onslaught of various shaped snowballs which in turn forced the poor vampire to run and take cover.

The girls thought they won. Until Dominic enchanted one of the snowmen, who immediately began to hurl snowballs at them at an unbelievably fast pace.

They couldn't even make snowballs fast enough to retaliate, which left the two no choice but to animate their snowmen. That only started an all out war between snow creatures, one that ended in the snowmen completely destroyed and all three to nearly pass out from exhaustion. Wet and tired they went back into the house and shook themselves of the excess powdery substance from their cloaks. It melted immediately thanks to the heat being generated from the massive fireplace in the great room.

"I'm going to go nap." Elizabeth declared as she shook the snow from her hair and hung up her cloak.

"Make sure you dry up first." Ameris told her as she hooked up her own cloak.

"I will." She headed up the grand staircase. Once in her room she dried herself off and changed clothes. She laid in bed and closed her eyes. No sooner had she been finally starting to fall asleep there came a tapping noise from the balcony doors. She yawned and opened her eyes as she rolled out of bed. Making her way to the balcony door, she pulled back the curtain to see Ethon standing there with a package wrapped around his leg. She quickly opened the door and let him in, shivering at the frigid cold. The moment the eagle was in the room she shut the doors and closed the curtains. "Welcome home Ethon." She said through chattering teeth, her hands moving up and down her arms in a vain attempt to warm them.

Ethon sqwaked up at her as he shook his feathers of the cold. He instinctively waddled to the fireplace.

She followed him and knelt down beside him. Elizabeth reached out to his ankle and removed the package.

The moment she did, Ethon sat down and snuggled into his feathers.

She scratched the top of his head. "Onnory."

The house elf appeared with a pop. "Yes miss?"

"Can you bring something for Ethon to eat?" She asked as she started to open up the parcel.

"Yes miss." He disappeared with a pop. No sooner had he left did he reappear with a tray of feed for the eagle. He set it down near him and slowly pushed it over with his foot, paranoid that Ethon would snap and eat him instead.

"Thank you Onnory."

The elf bounced in place with a smile before popping out of existence again.

She opened the letter and scanned it with her eyes.

_Dearest Lioness, _

_Thank you so much for the holster. How did you know I was looking for something like this? The lion is also a nice touch. It will be like I have you by my heart always. Also I have good news, I told my parents about you and they'd like to meet you. So there is no worry about me having to give up my family name._

_I'm glad you like the earrings and hope you like the other present I included with this letter. I have your picture on my desk now. You look very beautiful in it. As for meeting up before break is over, I look forward to meeting you at Swyno Place. It would be great to have a proper date. We won't have to hide what we feel there. Let's meet new years eve. _

_Can't wait to see you,_

_Scorpius _

She smiled, _a date on new years eve. How romantic of him_. She reached for the package and undid the ribbon, she laughed a little at how badly wrapped it was. _He must have done it himself._ Just the fact that he had wrapped his present to her on his own signified that he was willing to under go that sort of humiliation for her. She idly pet Ethon for a moment as she let the details of his poor handy work sink in to her memory. Elizabeth ripped up the green paper and opened the box.

Her eyes widened at the sight. It was a small round ivory brooch pendant. Roses had been carved into it, some of the centers had small diamonds in them. When she ran her fingers along the roses to feel them, something moved. She pulled her fingers back and watched as a white gold snake slithered out, the flowers moving fluidly with it's movement. It looked up at her with a glittering emerald eye before disappearing again into the flowers. She lifted it up in her hand and felt the chain coming out of it's hiding from behind the brooch. She flipped it over and saw their initials carved into the white gold back plating of the pendant, a heart in between.

She immediately put it on. The chain was long and let the pendant dangle just above her stomach. A smile came to her face as she lifted it in her hand and came to admire it again, her free hand reached to pet Ethon again. The eagle had leaned slightly into her touch and let out a soft chirping noise from the back of his throat in appreciation.

Elizabeth waited in the cold outside of Ichabod's on new years eve. It was only noon, still fairly early, but she couldn't hold her excitement. She had convinced Ameris to let her go alone. Although Ameris had been weary to let her, Dominic had helped to persuade her. So here she was, shivering as she waited for Scorpius to make an appearance. She felt movement against her. She looked down to see the snake moving out of its cover.

"Snow."

She snapped out of her thoughts of being cold and looked behind her.

Scorpius stood there wearing a heavy wool coat, his hair wasn't slicked back and his cheeks were flushed from the cold. He had earmuffs on to protect them. He was glad that his mother had forced him to wear the wool trousers before he went out. "Were you waiting long?"

She shook her head. "No. I just got here maybe five or ten minutes ago."

He stepped forward to her and took in the sight of her. She was wearing her hair in two braids. She had red earmuffs on that covered up the earrings. He could see her shivering even under the thick red wool cloak she was wearing. He could faintly see she was wearing a black taffeta dress under it with a pair a thick black tights and matching boots to protect her soft legs from the cold. The necklace caught his eye and he smiled before leaning in and kissing her lips. "Shall we?"

She blushed and nodded as he offered his arm to her. She graciously accepted it and the two walked into Ichabod's arm in arm.

Once inside they were seated at a booth. It was dark, but the candles in front of them illuminated them enough that they could see each other. "Did you have a hard time getting here? I know it's far from home."

He shook his head. "It wasn't that bad." He looked over the menu before looking up at her again. "So where are you staying? Is it some place near here?"

"I'm staying at the Howell estate. It's somewhere in the country side."

"So that was the Professor's surprise I take it?"

She laughed a bit. "Yeah, it was. We had to be taken there by port key because it's not accessible via floo."

"Couldn't you have apparated there?"

"The estate is warded. You'd need special permissions to be able to apparate to the location."

"Sounds like a secure place."

She nodded. "It'll be even more secure after I place my own wards on it."

"You're going to place more wards? Why?"

"I have to." Her eyes went distant for a moment, before she decided it was time he knew at least a little more. "It was where my parents were murdered." She paused. "The person who did it was a friend of theirs and they had permissions to enter in and out of the estate. I have to ensure I put my own ward up and remove the previous ones to remove the risk." She noticed Scorpius looking at her intently before speaking again. "It's also tradition that when the house is passed down to the next generation that they put a ward on the entirety of the estate. There's over eight hundred years of wards on the property, maybe even more, I'm not sure."

"Eight hundred? Sounds excessive."

"Seems so doesn't it? The wards around the estate are a lot like the ones around Hogwarts. But because they have always been constantly reinforced with each new generation, it would take a lot of power to actually take all of the wards down. Even a really powerful wizard wouldn't be able to get passed a good few of them without exhausting their magic core."

_What was her family hiding that they needed that much protection?_ He gave her a smile. "Well how has your Christmas been?" He asked, changing the subject.

As they chatted about what they got for Christmas, the two had not noticed that they were being watched from a booth across the room. _It's that girl again._ The black haired man watched with narrowed eyes trained on their lips, reading them to get a gist of their conversation. _How happy and frivolous they are. I'll have to change that. _He glared at them from across the room, watching them intently. The moment they were finished their meal and left, he paid for his own and followed just a few steps away.

They walked arm in arm through the streets of Swyno Place, unaware of the man following them just a few steps behind. They walked into a store for a few minutes and came out giggling. Scorpius took a step, not noticing the random patch of ice and skidded around. His eyes widened in momentary panic.

Elizabeth grabbed hold of his arm and tried to steady him only for her to slip as well.

He grabbed hold of her and turned them as they fell to cushion her fall.

She leaned up from the laying position and blushed deeply. "Well that was certainly fun."

He smiled and pushed hair back and away from her face. "It was, too bad neither of us were wearing ice skates."

They laughed as they wobbly stood up and walked like penguins across the ice to safety.

Morgan grumbled as he watched them. He had hoped that they would have been more hurt then that.

They went into another store and returned from it carrying a bag. They walked hand and hand and looked over at different shop windows. As they stood in front of a shop, neither noticed the sign swaying dangerously until it was too late. Scorpius looked up hearing the sound of a chain breaking just in time to see the shop sign snap. Instinctively he grabbed her arm and tugged her back into him, twirling them around as he pushed them both to the ground. He felt the sharp edge graze the back of his head before it slammed into the shop window, shattering it to pieces.

"S...Scorpius?" Elizabeth called out. Her voice was full of panic as she laid there sprawled out on the pavement under him.

Scorpius was sprawled on top of her, having protected her from the shattered glass and sign that had come dangerously close to injuring her.

A crowd had begun to gather, forcing Morgan to leave before he was spotted. _Damn that boy. He's just as troublesome as the other one was. _He shook the thought from his head. That was impossible, no one was as much of a nuisance as his half brother was. He disappeared into the darkness.

Elizabeth slid out from under him a little and rested his head on her lap. "Scorpius? Are you alright?"

He groaned as the shop keeper rushed out and started uttering apologies. He opened his eyes and moved back to sit on his knees. He reached back and felt the wetness on the back of his head. He hissed at the sting. His heart sank when he looked up at Elizabeth. She was in tears. "I'm fine Lioness, really, it's just a cut. Please don't cry." He winced again, ignoring the shop keeper who was still apologizing.

Elizabeth shook it off and got on her knees. She tugged him down and took a look at the red starting to stain his white blonde locks. She pulled the gloves off and placed her hands over the wound.

He could feel the warmth radiating from them, followed by a tingling sensation. He could vaguely hear the shop keeper still panicking.

"I don't understand it! This chain is made from wrought iron, it shouldn't have just snapped like this!"

Scorpius didn't think much of it now as he felt Elizabeth pull back from him. The stinging pain was gone.

"That should do it, you'll just have to give you hair a quick clean before you go. I'd hate for your parents to you know, hate me."

The shop keeper went to them. "Please, I'm so sorry for this. Come inside to clean up, it's the least I can do for the two of you."

Elizabeth stood and helped Scorpius up. They went inside as the keeper ushered the crowd away. He worked his magic to clean up the mess before joining the two inside. "The washroom is over there." He directed Scorpius to it and Elizabeth looked around the shop. When he was gone she looked at the shop keeper. "You said that the chain shouldn't have snapped the way it did... right?"

He looked up to her as he worked to calm down the frightened animals. "Yes. I just don't understand it. You can see if you look at the chain just how thick it is. I had it special ordered to withstand the elements here. It just doesn't make sense."

Elizabeth bit down on her bottom lip. She shook her head. This was an accident, nothing more, at least that's what she would be telling herself. She tried to distract herself with helping him calm his animals. A black kitten latched on and played with her arm, bringing a smile to her face as she knelt down to play with it.

Scorpius came out of the bathroom and looked over towards her. "All done."

She stood up and returned the kitten to the shop owner. "You're alright?"

"I'm fine, you did a good job healing me. I didn't know you could do wandless magic, let alone wordlessly as well."

"I've had a lot of practice." She lied. When she was a child she could wield magic wordlessly, but it was too strong and hard to control at her age. It had been the source of much panic at the estate when she had accidentally blown up a fireplace one day during a temper tantrum. She shook her head. "Shall we then?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"I'm so sorry again, honestly."

"It's alright." Scorpius hung back as Elizabeth walked out.

She stared up at the sign that had been rehung. Her eyes were glued to it. That couldn't have been a coincidence, there was just no way. She snapped out of it when she heard Scorpius come out of the shop finally.

"Let's go back to enjoying ourselves... ok?" He said softly as he placed a hand on the small of her back. He leaned in and kissed her temple.

Elizabeth looked up at him. She forced a smile to her face.

He led her away from the shop to look at the others. Eventually they came upon a weird booth. "What's this?" He asked as he stood in front of it, curiosity in his eyes.

She looked over to it. "Oh, it's a photo booth."

"A photo booth?"

"Yes, it's a muggle thing. It takes multiple photos and prints them in strips." She pointed it to him.

"Let's do it."

"Wait what?"

"Let's get in the booth." He said. There was a childish smile on his face as he took her arm and dragged her inside.

"But Scorpius it's freezing... out here..." She blinked as she sat in the seat. The booth was warm. Some times she forgot about magic. She chuckled a little when Scorpius slid into the seat beside her.

"Well... this is certainly cozy." He removed his earmuffs and ruffled his hair. He found the hook and slid off his coat. "Well come on, can't take pictures in our winter wear."

She laughed a bit and removed the muffs before sliding out of her cloak.

He hooked them up for her before looking at the screen. "Ok... now to work this thing..." He watched the directions before starting it up. He leaned back and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He turned his attention to her and smiled a bit. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed softly. Her skin was flushed from his contact. "Snow."

"Hm?" She looked up at him. "Yes?"

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

She closed her eyes and kissed him in return.

Before either realized it, Scorpius had her up against the wall of the booth, his lips locked on hers in a deep kiss as his hand rested against her hip and moved down her thigh. His bare hand made contact with her tights. It was hard to control himself at this point. He found his hand moving until it rested between her legs where her heat radiated against the palm. He breathed in her scent deeply. His fingers pressed hard against her mound as he palmed her.

She shivered and grabbed a hold of the gray button down shirt. She moaned softly as she rocked her hips forward into his hand with need. Elizabeth pressed her lips to his again before letting her hand trail down, it stopped to rest on his straining need. She blushed and let her hand grip him through his clothes as he was doing to her. She stroked him gently.

He shuddered, grunting as he thrust up against her hand, almost desperate for her.

Without a thought, Elizabeth undid the zipper of the expensive wool trousers and easily found his length, surprising them both when her hand grabbed at him. Her thumb trailed softly along the tip.

Scorpius let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He eagerly pressed his hand into her harder and rubbed her more through the fabric. He gasped and huffed at the feel of her hand against his shaft. He pressed his lips to hers as his hand found entrance into her tights. He pulled back from the kiss, a surprised look on his face. "No panties. You're a naughty lioness aren't you?"

She wasn't sure how to respond. She only answered him with a squeeze.

He pressed himself to her again and kissed her deeply. His fingers slid up and down the slit of her entrance before they found the nub and rubbed it in slow gentle circles. The noise she made in result pleased him. He gently trailed his fingers back up and down the slit before he pushed them into her.

She gripped him harder and worked his shaft in her hand, using his liquids that seeped from the tip as lubricant. She moaned his name softly.

He wanted to be in her, but he couldn't risk that now. He wouldn't push fate. He worked his fingers in different intervals, from slow to fast to slow again, waiting to see what would make her sully her tights. He knew he wouldn't last long with how she was stroking him, matching the way his fingers moved in her. He leaned in and kissed at her neck. He let his teeth graze the skin before biting softly, teasingly.

She tightened her grip on him as she lost control of herself. She cried out and coated his fingers and the inside of her tights.

He tensed at the tight grip of her hand on his sensitive shaft. His release dribbled out messily over her fingers. A part of him wished it hadn't been wasted. A blinking light snapped him out of his thoughts and he noticed finally that the booth had taken pictures of the whole scene. While she was busy trying to fix herself, he reached and took what was made without her noticing. He managed to get them into his coat pocket. "Well looks like I didn't set this up right. Maybe you should do it Elizabeth. You know these muggle things much better then I do."

She took in a few breathes before nodding. "Yes." She leaned over and looked at the screen, unaware that Scorpius had lied. She leaned back and fixed herself. "Ok, that should do it." _Let's just pretend none of that happened. Even though it did and it was totally amazing._ She blushed as she felt him wrap an arm around her shoulder.

When the pictures were done and they were bundled up, they shuffled out of the booth, glad that no one was hanging around there. Her watch rang and she jumped up before turning her attention down to it. "Oh no."

"What is it?"

"That's the alarm that Ameris set to tell me it was time to go back to the estate."

"I see." He looked slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to spend more time with her. "Very well. Well not long until we get to go back to school."

She nodded. "Right, we'll get to see each other in classes."

"I plan on seeing you outside of class as well."

She looked up at him. "You do?"

"I do. I have nothing to hide any more. My parents approve of my choices. That's all that matters here."

"But your reputation-"

"Doesn't matter." He interrupted as he moved closer to her. He looked into her eyes before smiling handsomely down at her. "I'll have you. That's all I want and need." He took her hand and kissed it softly. He laid a hand gently on her cheek and leaned down, kissing her lips next.

She returned the kiss, feeling the warmth starting to pool between her legs again.

Scorpius pulled away. "Until we next meet my lioness." He kissed her hand once more before sticking his hands in his pockets and turning to leave.

She watched him go. She sighed and apparated away to where she hid the port key. Elizabeth went back to the estate with what happened in the booth still on her mind, the incident with the sign pushed out of it for now.


End file.
